Rep. Boebert’s restaurant closes
Congresswoman's office last month said leases for restaurant, next-door campaign office weren't being renewed
U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert’s gun-themed restaurant in Rifle appears to be no more. The Silt Republican, who ascended to national prominence partially through Shooters Grill, where waitstaff open-carried firearms, shuttered the eatery Sunday, she told Rifle’s Citizen Telegram newspaper. It’s possible, the congresswoman told the newspaper, that she and her husband Jayson could continue the Shooters brand through a coffee shop in another location in town. “It’s been an amazing journey,” Boebert told the Citizen Telegram. “I don’t regret anything. It’s always sad to close a chapter. But this is where we’re at.” Boebert and her staff didn’t respond to inquiries Wednesday from the The Denver Post. The future of Shooters Grill came into question last month when the owners of the property — who run a dispensary in Rifle — opted not renew its lease. A Boebert spokesperson told The Post last month that the lease for its campaign office next door to the restaurant would also not be renewed. Someone who answered the phone at Rifle Remedies, the cannabis shop, said Wednesday that “we’re trying to run a business and we can’t be having reporters calling here.” Mike Miller and Dan Meskin, the property owners, couldn’t be reached. The restaurant had become something of a rightwing tourist attraction during its eight-year tenure, with diners able to order “Guac Nine” burgers or “Swiss and Wesson” sandwiches. But it’s also the focus for an investigation into whether the sitting congresswoman broke any laws by cashing in on mileage reimbursements from her own campaign. A complaint, filed by the head of an anti-boebert political action committee, alleged the congresswoman used false mileage records to pay herself $22,000 as a way to offset a tax lien on Shooters. Boebert catapulted into national stardom in 2020 after ousting incumbent Rep. Scott Tipton in the Republican primaries. She garnered widespread attention in the lead-up to the election for keeping her restaurant open during the COVID-19 shutdown against state law.