This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with married couple John Wolfe, 35, and Josh Franklin, 43, both theatre performers and bar owners. The couple lived in New York City for over a decade, working on and off Broadway. During the pandemic, they moved to Colorado Springs, where they opened the city’s first gay cocktail bar, ICONS.
The following has been edited for length and clarity.
Josh: I was born and raised in Colorado Springs, but I moved to New York at the age of 22.
John: I was raised Mormon and homeschooled in West Virginia. I attended Brigham Young University for a couple of years until I discovered some things about myself that didn’t align with the Mormon Church. That’s when I moved to New York.
Josh: We met doing a show in Connecticut. The rest is history.
John: Even while living in New York, we visited Colorado Springs a lot. We went back and forth and taught master classes and workshops for kids at an art school.
About five years ago, the school asked if I had time to lead their theatre program for a semester. It seemed like a good, long-term idea. That inspired us to buy a house there.
We could feel the energy growing in Colorado Springs, so we figured it was a smart move. It was still affordable back then.
We bought the Colorado Springs house in 2018. We were still doing shows in New York, so we made it into an Airbnb.
When the pandemic happened, we decided to go to Colorado instead of staying in our 400-square-foot studio in New York.
It was never the plan to fully move to Colorado, but fate had different ideas.
We thought Colorado would be temporary
Josh: There wasn’t one moment we decided to move out of New York. It was a slow progression.
John: Neither Josh nor I are very good at sitting idle. But COVID forced us to pause.
We started meeting people at socially-distanced neighborhood gatherings. We realized what a vibrant and diverse community Colorado Springs had become.
Courtesy of John Wolfe and Josh Franklin
We decided the city needed a dedicated queer space downtown.
It was a silly little COVID idea that snowballed. People got really excited, and it took off without us.
We got a great deal on a rental space because of the pandemic. We did all the work ourselves.
We thought ICONS would be a sleepy, little cocktail piano bar. But it exploded when we officially opened on Halloween in 2020.
Josh: It was a party. And it’s been a party ever since.
We were able to staff ICONS with professional singers. It’s very New York. We wanted to bring what we were passionate about to Colorado Springs and share it.
In that first year, we were voted best new bar and best overall bar. We couldn’t believe it.
We were expecting pushback
Josh: People warned us. They said we shouldn’t call it a gay bar. They liked our concept but said it wouldn’t work.
But it was just the opposite. We didn’t get one piece of hate or pushback. To see it be so celebrated was rewarding.
If you told teenage me that a gay bar would be voted best bar in Colorado Springs, I would have said you were crazy.
Colorado Springs was extremely conservative when I was growing up. There was an amendment passed in the nineties that essentially allowed businesses in the state to discriminate against gay people.
That’s part of the reason I knew I had to get to New York.
But I’ve found such beauty in this full-circle moment, coming back to Colorado after the experiences I had here in high school and being able to offer the community a bright, celebratory space.
John: The number of changes we’ve seen happen for people because of our space has been amazing. People have come out to their families and to themselves because of ICONs.
Courtesy of John Wolfe and Josh Franklin
Colorado Springs has a small-town feel with big-city amenities
John: The downtown area is one of the best little cities in the world. And it’s changing quickly. There’s a huge influx of young people.
We don’t have a lot of chains downtown. It’s mostly small businesses. All the owners know each other and support one another.
Josh: But Colorado Springs is not cheap.
John: The value of our home has doubled since we bought it.
It’s still cheaper than Denver and certainly cheaper than New York.
Josh: But it’s not necessarily a big enough shift that we feel like we can afford anything. And there are things we miss about New York.
John: The No. 1 thing we miss is being able to walk everywhere. We miss that and the public transportation.
Josh: And the food. You can get any kind of food at any hour in New York.
John: In New York, you get used to seeing people from all walks of life speaking hundreds of different languages. There’s not quite that much diversity in Colorado.
Josh: And we miss our friends, of course.
But New York is a hard place to live. Something I loved and hated about the city is that every day is about survival. You have to get up and go because you can’t pay your bills if you don’t.
I like having a bit more space here in Colorado. I like having a backyard. There are even days I enjoy driving.
We still live in the same house we bought in 2018. We were saving up for a while for something with one more bedroom.
John: But in December last year, our ICONS neighbor had a kitchen fire. Everyone in the building was asked to leave, and we had to start from scratch.
We tried to find a new rental space, but the city had grown so fast that we couldn’t afford anything.
We considered going back to New York full-time. But the outpouring of community love we received in Colorado was unbelievable.
We realized we need ICONS to be around for as long as possible. So, we decided the best thing was to buy our own space. And that’s what we did.
Josh: All our savings have gone toward building the new ICONS 2.0.
John: We’re a block away from the old space. We’re doing a full renovation. We hope to be up and running by September or October.
Coutesy of John Wolfe and Josh Franklin.
We still go back to New York regularly
John: We’re still involved in the art scene. We’re always going back and forth between Colorado and New York for performances or auditions. I’m in the city almost once a week.
My sister works for an airline, so I can hop on standby flights and fly free. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to afford it.
As long as we have the opportunity to live this double life, I think we’ll keep doing it.
Josh: We tend not to stay in the same place too long.
John: We love new chapters. I would love to live in a million different cities in my lifetime.
Josh: But having bought commercial property and committed to ICONS, we’ll certainly never leave Colorado Springs permanently.
John: We will always have an anchor here. We love, love, love it.
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