Boulder is down another sports bar.

Ralphie’s Bar and Grill at 2860 Arapahoe Ave. is closing before the end of the year, its employees were told Sunday, devastating Rachael Brown, who worked at the location when it was Harpo’s, another sports bar that shut down in 2018 after a 15-year run in the spot.

Brown recently quit working full time at a CBD company to return to Ralphie’s because she could make better money in tips as a waitress than the $15 to $16 an hour she was earning, and she became emotional on Monday while talking about losing her job just before the holidays.

“We got the news yesterday, in the middle of our shift,” Brown said. “I literally can’t believe it. This is the CU sports bar, for CU.”

The closure was a business decision by owner John Bui, who tried to revive the location for sports viewing. But Ralphie’s was unable attract enough customers in the last year to stay afloat, Bui said.

“It’s just where we have not been busy enough, so we have to close down,” Bui said.

He had a multi-year lease on the property, which was bought by Tebo Properties in late July in a $4.8 million deal that included the two adjacent properties that host a tire shop and mattress store, respectively, Boulder County records show. Stephen Tebo said his company offered a deal to Bui to get out from under the lease.

“The rumor is we raised the rent, which is actually untrue,” Tebo said. “We took over his lease and have not raised the rent one penny. We made him a deal to cancel his lease early because he hasn’t been doing the numbers. … He does great on the (weekend) ball games, but just during the week it hasn’t worked for him.”

Ralphie’s exit follows the October closure of the Lazy Dog Bar and Grill on the Pearl Street Mall,leaving Boulder with relatively few establishments dedicated to sports viewing. The Dark Horse, 2922 Baseline Road, in existence since 1975, remains one, boasting of more than 20 high-definition televisions available for fans.

“We were so disappointed when Lazy Dog downtown went out that (Ralphie’s) didn’t see a big influx in business,” Tebo said.

Tebo is in talks with two national brands — one a sports bar franchise and the other a breakfast place — to fill the space. He declined to further specify the possible tenants.

“Between the two of those, we’re hoping to revitalize that building, because it’s a good location,” Tebo said.