(COLORADO SPRINGS) — The owner of Club Q tells FOX21 News, that the club will reopen at its original location sometime soon, and some community members and victims are not happy about it.
FOX21 News spoke with Club Q’s owner, Mathew Haynes, to learn his plans to reopen and hear from others who are unsure how they feel about the reopening. Jeff Henricks is an employee at Gold Mine Mini Golf, which is directly across the street from Club Q.
“I mean anything that happens is going to anger, it’s going to anger some people and not others,” says Hendricks.
Haynes says the club will reopen at its original location sometime in the near future, “We’re slowly going in and revamping and remodeling the interior of Club Q, and working towards getting the club to open again in this location, those are all part of the steps of healing.”
Hendricks says he’s been getting feedback from the community on their opinions, but says some people are not on board.
“[people] they’ve told me that if they want to reopen the club, they said that’s fine, but they don’t plan on attending again because they didn’t want to come back in and party and have fun where their friends were killed,” said Henricks.
Back in March survivors of the shooting opened “The Q”, a lounge inside the Satellite Hotel. A space aimed to continue Club Q’s mission as a safe and affirming place for all.
“There are certainly people that can that were involved in the shooting that cannot step foot in here again. But then there are so many that keep telling us to reopen. The family members of our two bartenders truly want us to reopen because they know this is where they were the happiest,” added Haynes.
Haynes says that finding a balance between honoring victims and providing a place for the LGBTQ+ community has been a difficult process.
“We’ve been focusing very much on the interior that it’s going to be, you know, fresh and new. But it’s a balance because we also wanted it to be recognizable and familiar, and so that has been our goal, we’re not rushing through this, but certainly, this space will again be what it’s been for the last 22 years,” he tells FOX21 News.
Henricks says he is on the fence about how he feels about it reopening, but says despite what happens he is hoping for peace and understanding in the community.
“you can only hope that the people that are of the percentage that are angered by it, that they don’t do anything stupid or violent, again. Let them be angry about it, that’s their right as a person, and as a human being, it’s their right to be angry about something or happy about something,” he added.
It is not yet clear when Club Q will reopen, but at Sunday’s candle vigil, when some people heard about the possibility of a reopening they were not happy about it.
