After a fire destroyed The Rainbow Lounge, a Fort Worth gay nightclub in June, the owners now say they are not optimistic that the bar will reopen.
Owners Fred Bowling and his partner Tom McAvoy looked at several vacant buildings in Fort Worth, but say cost to renovate the buildings have since tripled.
McAvoy said his realtor is still looking for a new location, but as of right now it appears the bar will not reopen in Fort Worth.
Bowling & McAvoy now live in Florida.
The Rainbow Lounge at 651 South Jennings was open for decades and was the site of a controversial raid in 2009 that resulted in two men being injured during a scheduled inspection by Fort Worth police and the Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission.
Two TABC agents and a supervisor lost their jobs and three Fort Worth police officers were suspended after the incident. The TABC and city of Fort Worth also paid more than $600,000 to the victims to settle lawsuits.
Firefighters have said the June fire was accidental.
