LARAMIE — They fell in love at the Cowboy Saloon and Dance Hall. Now Trinity and Trevor Thatcher are its new owners.
The couple met in high school and had their first date at the Cowboy Saloon’s 18+ night. They were never apart after that, and married not long after high school.
Now, years later, the two have returned. Not as customers, but as the honky-tonk's new owners.
“This is magical,” Trinity told Cowboy State Daily. “We still get goosebumps every time walking in the door. There are nights we close down the bar, look around in shock that it’s really ours, and we still can’t believe it.”
Their journey to buying the bar is part love story, part inventive real estate play, and part survival. They’ve bought into a bar just as many are drinking less, amid growing public-health warnings from entities like the World Health Organization, which has said no amount of alcohol consumption is safe.
The decline in drinking makes their purchase an immediate adapt-or-die situation. They’ve had to build a new business model to make it.
“Our system is able to track data about ages,” Trinity said. “And so the average 21- to 27-year-old is drinking one drink for five hours.”
That’s something Trinity would love to celebrate, but she owns a bar.
“That’s why we’ve started getting creative,” she said.
They Don’t Even Drink
The bar has, without a doubt, been the biggest risk the couple has taken, Trinity said.
“I mean, we don’t even really drink,” she said, chuckling at the irony. “And we know business and we know about real estate. But the bar side, we just didn’t know. So the last year and a half has been a big learning curve.”
They first looked at what was selling and what wasn’t.
“We’ve cut the menu down quite a bit,” Trinity said. “That’s been really good because we had a lot of stock that just wasn’t necessary. They were things that weren’t selling.”
The bartenders actually appreciate having fewer liquors to manage, she added.
Staffing was another learning curve, she added.
“We’ve always had a staff, but we’ve normally had five employees,” she said. “Now we have 35.”
The business has added catering and leaned into community events like Business After Hours, weddings, community meetings and fundraisers.
“I love the hospitality side of things,” Trinity said. “So for me, that’s the part I just love. Obviously I love live music, too. That’s the whole reason. Trevor and I both really love music, always have.”
Youths Still Want To Gather
The bar is also leaning into zero-proof lines like Wise Tails from Colorado and non-alcoholic Corona.
“Surprisingly, NA Corona and NA Ultra sell so well,” she said. “We probably sell more NA Corona than we do regular Corona.”
The bar has installed a non-alcoholic vending machine and also offers a range of mocktails.
“The mocktails are already selling really well,” she said.
Even the “sober-curious” still want to go out and have a good time, Trinity added.
“I know I’m happiest when I’m in a fun setting,” she said. “So I hope if people are struggling, I’d love for them to just get out and come see us.”
So far, that tack is working well for the bar. On a recent Wednesday night, the 18+ night was at max capacity by 9:30 p.m.
“One person would have to leave before another person could come in,” Trinity said. “The line wrapped all around the street, down to the alley. It was pure chaos, in the best way.”
Those students have even given Trinity a nickname. They call her Mama T.
“I’m happy to give them all a hug if it can help their day just a little,” she said. “I just would love for people to come back out. You don’t have to drink.”
Longer term, the couple plan to lean even more into live music events. They plan to extend their stage by 3-4 feet so they can host bigger acts and revamp the green room so there’s a bathroom and shower for the musicians.
How It All Started
Trinity and Trevor’s path to the Cowboy started in small-town Wyoming.
She grew up in Saratoga, where her parents managed Shively Hardware. Trevor was in Rawlins working at True Value — technically under her dad, who was his boss.
“I would go over (to Rawlins) with my dad,” Trinity recalled. “So I met Trevor in high school, just in passing and that kind of thing.”
In college, they bumped into each other again, and he asked Trinity if she wanted to go to the Cowboy Saloon’s 18+ night.
She told him she was already going, and would meet him there.
“So we had our first date and we danced all night,” she said. “It was wonderful, and we really weren’t apart ever after that.”
Dad was not keen on the idea that one of his employees was dating his daughter, however.
“He didn’t love that,” Trinity said with a chuckle. “Not at first. It’s just so funny because my dad was tough, and so Trevor was like, ‘What do you mean you’re Richard Hayes’ daughter?’”
Trevor stuck it out, however, and before long Trinity said her dad was calling Trevor more often than he called her.
“They became best friends pretty quickly,” Trinity said. “The turning point, I think, was when he realized that this was the real deal and we were in it for the long haul.”
After that, he “really supported us and loved us like crazy,” Trinity said.
The two were married by age 20 and soon had two children. Both are now grown and college graduates still living in Laramie. The daughter works at the bar, while the son helps handle all the IT.
That’s made the Cowboy more than a saloon. It’s something the family is doing together.
Reverse Real Estate Snowball
Buying the Cowboy wasn’t an impulsive leap for the couple. It was the result of nearly two decades of small but increasingly ambitious real estate bets.
It all began with a duplex and a $500 down payment. Their parents weren’t able to help them with that, but they found an FHA-style loan that only required $500 down.
The couple lived in one side and rented out the other, with the rent paying more than half the mortgage. That dropped the couple’s housing costs, and gave them solid financial footing.
When they heard about a cheap house two doors down for sale, they were intrigued.
“We knew it was going to be pretty cheap,” she said. “But we didn’t think — at this point we were just 22 — so we didn’t think there was any way we were going to get qualified to have another one.”
But the lender knew just what to do.
“Yeah, let’s just pull the equity out of your other house,” Trinity recalls being told.
That allowed them to pull enough equity out of their duplex for a down payment on the new house.
It was a quick fix and flip, and then the proceeds went into a fourplex in Saratoga that they also fixed up, then sold for an eightplex in Laramie.
“We just kept pulling equity from those to buy more rental properties,” she said. “We’re amazed we were able do all this with (essentially) no money down on anything.”
Call it a reverse snowball. Instead of accumulating a large cash down payment, the Thatchers used equity from one property to help acquire the next, larger investment. A duplex became a house, the house led to a fourplex, and the fourplex gave way to an eightplex in Laramie.
None of this was as easy as it sounds on paper, Trinity added.
“We’ve been insanely scared of everything we’ve taken on,” she said. “But it’s all been amazing.”
When Trinity heard the Cowboy was for sale, she took a leap of faith.
“We went in and just gave it a shot,” Trinity said. “It all happened so fast. And I still can’t even believe it’s ours. It’s just the coolest, most magical thing to be part of. The support we’ve gotten has been unbelievable.”
That support included an event with Ian Munsick to promote his latest album, The Mountain Goat.
“I just bawled my eyes out the whole time, because I could not believe that was actually happening,” Trinity said. “I was so happy. This has been the biggest blessing to our lives.”
Nothing Beats Being There
Bars across the region have closed, Trinity acknowledged, which she believes is related to the decline in drinking. Trinity heard from other bar owners at a recent industry expo that sales are down as much as 40%.
“We knew that, but it was nice hearing it from other bar owners,” she said. “And being able to talk about getting creative with mocktails and having classes on those. So that was a good event.”
Trinity pointed to the Outlaw Saloon in Cheyenne and the Sundance in Fort Collins, Colorado, which have both shut their doors.
Their closures have brought The Cowboy Saloon both displaced customers and some of the bars’ equipment, thanks to unexpectedly generous and supportive owners.
“We’re still sad those things closed down,” Trinity said. “We’d rather see them still be standing, but I just hope everyone understands how important it is to support your local places. Without that support, I can see how easy it would be to have to close your doors.”
In a society that has more ways to connect than ever, there’s still nothing that beats being there in person, Trinity said. She’s seen for herself how people light up when they have a nice place to gather, dance, listen to live music and see their neighbors face to face.
Sometimes, people even fall in love out there on the dance floor.
“Wednesdays are our favorite night,” Trinity said. “That’s where we met, so that thing is never going away. We have to keep it forever.”
Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.
