Cocktails & Screams, horror-themed downtown Orlando bar, closing after 6 years

ORLANDO, Fla. - Cocktails & Screams, the year-round, horror-themed bar in downtown Orlando, is closing after six years in operation.

The bar's final night will be March 20.

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"The time has come for the lights to dim on our little haunted house," the bar said in a social media post.

The post thanked all of its customers, performers, bartenders and security team from over the years.  

"This place was never just a bar," the post said. "It was a living ghost story built by the incredible community that walked through our doors."

Why is Cocktails & Screams closing? 

The owners cited a shift in downtown nightlife and fees imposed by the city among the reasons for the closure.

"Downtown Orlando has changed," the post read. "Nightlife traffic has faded, and the increasing fees and regulatory costs imposed by the city of Orlando have become impossible for small, independent venues like ours to survive."

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What is Cocktails & Screams?

Cocktails & Screams opened in 2019 and became known for its themed rooms with Halloween and horror decor.

Several downtown Orlando bars and clubs have closed in recent years. The owner of Cocktails & Screams was also behind two popular bars—HighT Orlando and 1UP Orlando—which both closed last year.

Downtown restrictions on nightlife, fees and declining nightlife were also cited as major factors.

What's next:

Cocktails & Screams plans to hold a "farewell tour," for a final round of "screams, songs, and spirits."

"Join us for our final two weeks as we celebrate Halloween the only way we know how loud, haunted, and surrounded by the community that made these six years legendary," the post said.

The bar will be open from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. on select nights during the farewell tour.