Cowboys Saloon appears to have ridden off into the sunset.
The country music restaurant and bar concept, which was taking over former Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill locations nationwide, unexpectedly has closed its two Valley venues that reopened earlier this year.
Cowboys opened at High Street in northeast Phoenix in January and at Park West in Peoria in July. The Valley’s third ex-Toby Keith’s – at Mesa Riverview – reportedly was in the planning stages.
Now, all three sites are dark and locked. The website is down. Social media accounts are quiet. Phones go straight to voicemail.
Cowboys Saloon was founded in Davie, Fla., in 2011 by Anthony Perera, who eventually opened two more in Florida. Partnering with BG Capital Group, he attempted to take the concept nationwide.
Besides the Arizona locations, a Cowboys Saloon was opened in Denver, and another was scheduled to open in August in Syracuse, N.Y.
The Denver location also closed last week. Staffers hired for the Syracuse location have heard nothing from the unopened restaurant and bar in weeks.
Neither Perera nor BG Capitol have responded to inquiries.
Cowboys Saloon’s problems follow in the footsteps of Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill.
Phoenix-based Boomtown Entertainment opened 20 Toby Keith’s, including the three in the Valley, before its financial collapse resulted in mass closures and nearly $30 million in lawsuits, liens, and judgments.
