Less than a year after opening, Fool Me Once abruptly closed this week. The bar’s karaoke host and a former DJ for the bar posted on social media early this week about the closure.

The karaoke host, known as Danger Dani, posted that she had received “a bunch of texts” to pick up her karaoke equipment from the bar. “The place has been doing really great lately,” Dani said.

Gigi, the DJ who used to play Thursdays at the bar posted that she had reached out to the bar to do something for the new Beyoncé album but hadn’t heard back, assuming the bar was too busy.

“Beautiful bar with even better people,” Gigi said on Twitter/X.

The ever-changing neon cowboy artscape behind the bar at Fool Me Once. Photo by Charlie Rybak.

On Monday the business’ windows were covered with paper and the bar’s iconic neon cowboy art piece had been removed. Fool Me Once owner Will Benedetto has not responded to Southwest Voices’ email.

There is a GoFundMe page to support the staff that were laid off. Southwest Voices covered the opening of the bar last summer.