Starlight Lounge has closed after a 20-year run on Main Avenue in Durango.
Longtime owner Rick Carney said the closure of the bar at 937 Main Ave. was driven by a difficult economic climate and a personal pull toward retirement.
A bartender first told The Durango Herald about the closure during the final days of Snowdown 2026, saying the lease had not been renewed and employees would be out of work by Feb. 1.
“Twenty years and we decided to close it down,” Carney said. “I’m 64 years old. Mainly, that’s it. It was time to retire. It was time to be done, and (the business) wasn’t doing well. Oh, you know, it’s hard times. ... After COVID, everything changed.”
Carney did not specify how many people the bar was employing at the time of its closure.
The downtown nightlife venue, previously known as Moe’s Starlight Lounge, was well-loved by patrons for its colorful back patio, food and drink offerings and live events.
The building that housed the Starlight is said to have a colorful history.
Some believe the doorway of the building was the site of former La Plata County Sheriff William J. Thompson’s death after a 1906 shootout outside El Moro Spirits and Tavern with Durango Marshall Jessie C. Stansel.
Carney told the Durango Telegraph in 2023 that he experienced a fair share of unusual happenings at the bar and said employees often told him it was haunted.
Longtime Bar Manager Selena McCranie took over as owner in March 2025. She was the only female tribal member at the time to own a business on Durango’s Main Avenue, according to her and Carney.
Carney, who had led the bar for more than 18 years, said in March 2025 he would stay and help her navigate the challenges of first-time business ownership.
When asked last month if the bar was closing or experiencing any changes, McCranie said there was nothing to report, but that the bar was “at a standstill.”
McCranie told the Herald on Friday that Carney was the owner and directed questions about the closure to him.
Carney said the building’s landlord had received some inquiries from potential new owners as of Friday.
“It’s time for someone younger, with more energy, to go in and do it,” he said. “I’m sure it’ll be great.”
Carney said he appreciates the support Starlight received during its 20-year tenure.
“We had a great run. It was awesome,” he said. “... But it was time.”
epond@durangoherald.com
