Longtime Denver VFW Closes Its Doors: 'We're Adapting'

DENVER (CBS4) - Once a hub for veterans and their families, VFW Post 2461 on South Broadway now sits empty. Post leaders say there weren't enough people coming in to pay the bills.

"The reason for selling the building is because our monthly expenditures outweighed the revenue we had coming in," Post Commander Matthew Dixon-Moran told CBS4's Dominic Garcia.

Post 2461 was first chartered in 1937 and had been at its current location at 1350 S. Broadway in Denver for about 60 years. Dixon-Moran says VFWs across the country are facing the same challenges.

Older members are passing away, younger veterans prefer to get their resources online, and smaller wars mean fewer veterans.

"There were millions of people coming back from WWII, and the place to go was the VFW so they could be among their comrades," said Dixon-Moran.

Post leaders say they will temporarily use space at other VFWs around the city and possibly look to lease a smaller building in the future.

"Just because we sold our building doesn't mean we failed as a VFW. It just means we recognize the changing of times and we're adapting," Dixon-Moran told CBS4's Dominic Garcia.

The building was sold for $2 million, and Dixon-Moran believes the new owner has plans to turn it into a restaurant.