Walk down the stairs beneath Old Town Square and something shifts.
The streets disappear. The pace slows. And for a little while, it becomes surprisingly easy to forget what time it is, or what was waiting for you upstairs.
That feeling has been part of Social since its owner, Ty Fulcher, opened the underground cocktail bar in 2013. More than a decade later, it remains part of what has made Social such a beloved Fort Collins destination.
“We’re not trying to make people feel like they’re in New York or Chicago,” Fulcher says. “But if it gets you into a different place than where you were when you were outside, that’s the idea.”
Fulcher came to Fort Collins for college and graduated from Colorado State University in 2006. While working in downtown restaurants, he fell in love with the community and knew he wanted to build something of his own.
Then came the basement beneath Old Town Square.
For decades, the space had served largely as storage. When Fulcher and his team transformed it, they brought natural light into the room for the first time in years and turned an overlooked corner of Old Town into a destination. Its pie-shaped footprint also set it apart from the long, rectangular spaces common throughout downtown, making the room feel unexpected from the start.
Its underground setting and tucked-away entrance gave Social its own identity. At a time when Fort Collins’ beverage culture was largely centered around craft beer, Fulcher, whose background was in wine, saw an opportunity to introduce more people to spirits and thoughtfully crafted cocktails.
“We got a bunch of friends and a bunch of geeks into a basement and let them loose,” he says.
What started there soon attracted attention far beyond Fort Collins.
National recognition followed, including being named Yelp’s No. 1 speakeasy in America two years running and, most recently, one of USA TODAY’s Bars of the Year for 2026. Social was the only Colorado bar selected for the national list.
For Assistant General Manager Lecsi Bergstrom, those honors are about more than a title.
Bergstrom moved to Fort Collins from Oklahoma City in late 2022, the same year Social earned its first No. 1 Yelp ranking. She had researched the bar before moving and already hoped to work there.
“I knew Social was where I wanted to work,” she says.
Bergstrom says the accolades have added to the team’s sense of pride in what they create together. But awards aren’t what define Social.
People do.
“Hospitality is something that we can never and will never compromise on,” Bergstrom says. “We go above and beyond for our guests every single time.”
That philosophy may be the real reason people continue walking down those stairs year after year.
Some come to celebrate. Others arrive after a difficult day. There are first dates and anniversaries, promotions and heartbreaks, nights out with old friends and ordinary evenings that unexpectedly become memories.
Fulcher says they never really know what someone is carrying when they walk through the door. Whatever brought them in, the goal is simple: they should leave feeling better than when they arrived.
The cocktails become part of those stories.
Social’s bartenders collaborate on the menu, bringing their own ideas, experiences, and creativity to what ultimately ends up in the glass. Guests can also ask the team to create something specifically for them, beginning with a conversation: sweet or bitter? Tart? A favorite spirit?
It’s personal by design, built by a team that takes pride in creating an experience, not simply making a drink.
Perhaps that is what Social has been quietly creating in the heart of Old Town all along.
People may first find it because of the hidden entrance, beautifully crafted cocktails, or national accolades.
But they return for something harder to put on a menu: The feeling that, for a few hours beneath the city, they’re exactly where they want to be.
The Story in the Glass
Ty Fulcher’s path to cocktails actually began with wine. It’s still what he drinks most often, though he jokes tequila is the other choice because “you never know where it takes you.”
That curiosity carries into Social’s menu. Bartenders collaborate on new drinks, often pulling inspiration from memories and personal experiences. One recent idea paired corn whiskey and corn spirit, inspired by childhood trips through corn mazes with grandparents.
Guests can influence the process, too. Custom requests sometimes spark ideas bartenders keep refining long after the night ends.
For Fulcher, that creativity is part of what keeps Social personal, playful and always evolving.