River runners will meet rednecks again in Colorado’s most booming river town, with the infamous Vic (Victoria) bar re-opening in downtown Salida, Colo., at 142 N. F St.. at the end of August.
The tavern, locally dubbed The Vic, has been closed for four years. Drew Fink of Boulder purchased the building in 2021 and has since been restoring the historical structure. The new partners in the venture include Greg and Cate Kenny and Kyle Johan, who has lived in Salida since 2005 and also owns Whitewater Wraps. The new Vic will also feature a stage for live music. “It’s a legacy,” Johan told the local Mountain Mail newspaper. “How do you say no to (reopening) The Vic?”
Through more than 50 annual FIBArk river festivals and rafting seasons on the Arkansas, which flows just a half-block away, the Vic has been a watering hole for everyone from guides sharing their tales of carnage from the day to private rafters, kayakers and suppers tackling the country’s most popular whitewater waterway. It’s also been the scene for many a rowdy night, with river runners mixing with ranchers and other locals into the wee hours of the night.
It’s also right next door to the new Scout Wave downtown, built by Recreation Engineering & Planning, which is drawing river surfers to the area in droves. Indeed, venture there any day of the summer and you’ll find lines of surfers waiting their turn to carve up the wave. And it joins a booming downtown area, with such nearby establishments as Woods Distillery, Highside bar and restaurant, Tres Litros, the new BadFish retail store, and more, all turning Salida’s downtown into one of the most vibrant and hopping river scenes around.
Built in 1900, the Vic reportedly held the oldest concurrent liquor license in the state, before its COVID-19-era closure and then sale. “Hopefully it’s a new vintage of The Vic and still refreshing experience of what you’d expect to see when you open the doors,” Kenny said. “We see it as a social house for Salida. We want ranchers to mingle with raft guides like the old times.”
The Vic will be open from noon to midnight daily. While it might not resurrect its famous “50 cent beers on Wednesday,” it plans on having a ladies night and carry wines from Jack Rabbit Hill Farm in Hotchkiss and Pueblo’s Walters Beer, a longtime sponsor at The Vic, complete with a giant Walters Pilsner clock inside.
“This is Salida’s bar,” Kenny told the Mail. “We’re just the caretakers for a while.”
