The institution at the center of Boebert’s origin story now appears to face an uncertain future. Shooters Grill, the gun-themed Hooters parody restaurant that put Rifle, Colorado, on the map and elevated Boebert to local celebrity status, has run into some trouble with its new landlord—a marijuana retailer. But the story, which has gone through several iterations over the last week, isn’t exactly adding up. Delightfully Tacky, Yet Unrefined As it stands, the landlord has told Boebert he will revoke the restaurant’s lease at the end of August, and send Shooters packing. The rest is up in the air. Boebert told The Daily Beast that she and her husband, Jayson Boebert, had been surprised to receive the notice last week announcing that their lease would not be renewed. The building’s ownership changed hands last month, she said, and now Shooters would either have to find new digs or shut down for good. Showdown The day after that notice arrived, an anti-Boebert political group somehow got word that the timeline was even tighter—two weeks, the group said, putting the possible ouster just days before Republicans hit the polls for primary day. Boebert squelched the rumor, which she characterized to The Daily Beast as rank misinformation. Still, the truth stood: The restaurant she and her husband founded eight years ago was on the brink of closing. She didn’t explain why. A person familiar with the arrangement said the property manager felt he had a “moral” imperative to close the business, and planned to lease the space to another restaurant. Out of Ammo According to Boebert, she and her husband were first “at peace” with ending their run. But as the political plot thickened, she bought some time. Now she says she’s entertaining two contradictory options: The original shutdown plan, or buying the building outright from the new owners (strange, because they only took over a month ago). She won’t say which she and her husband are choosing until after the primary. Shooter McGavin In 2014, a number of major media outlets boosted the novelty restaurant’s profile, turning it into something of a “tourist trap,” as one former employee described it to The Daily Beast. Shooters has marketed itself as a Second Amendment-positive business, where waitresses open-carry loaded firearms on their hips and serve up menu items like a “Swiss and Wesson” sandwich. While Shooters was key to Boebert’s rise, it hasn’t been a financial success. The restaurant turned in a streak of six-figure losses leading up to Boebert’s 2020 election, and struggled to stay above water even after she shot to fame. The restaurant lost more than $600,000 combined between 2018 and 2020, according to Boebert’s financial disclosures, and it appears to have struggled with annual tax obligations, incurring a number of liens totaling nearly $20,000, the Denver Post reported. It’s been a lot of work balancing the restaurant against her legislative duties, she said. Today, the website is down. The last time it appears active in an archive search was December 2021. Full Clip Asked about the grill’s finances, the first-term congresswoman told The Daily Beast that Shooters is “not in the red,” and made its June rent. “Does a restaurant ever turn a profit?” Boebert joked. “No, we’re doing fine. We’re not in the red, we’re—we’re in the black, so it’s a lot better than last year.”
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