Denver’s Harry Potter pop-up bar vanishes after Warner Bros. casts cease-and-desist spell
May 15, 2026, 10:58 AM
A Harry Potter-themed pop-up bar in downtown Denver lasted barely a week before the magic ran out — courtesy of Warner Bros.
The Underground School of Magic opened May 6 in the basement of Church and Union, a restaurant on 17th Street in the Union Station neighborhood. The space was decked out with floating candles, newspaper clippings from The Daily Prophet and enchanted-looking letters — an immersive nod to the Wizarding World that had Potter fans booking reservations through its planned June 21 closing date.
On Tuesday, the restaurant confirmed it would “no longer be moving forward” with the pop-up.
The reason? In a voicemail obtained by FOX31, a Church and Union employee told a diner with an upcoming reservation that the pop-up was “too magical” — and that Warner Bros. had asked the restaurant to take it down.
Neither Church and Union nor Warner Bros. has issued a formal public statement on the matter.
The timing adds an extra layer of irony. Warner Bros. Discovery is set to open its own officially licensed “Harry Potter: The Exhibition” in Denver on June 26 at 417 S. Broadway, near Alameda and Broadway. Tickets go on sale May 14. A separate “DroneArt Show: Harry Potter” — featuring 1,200 illuminated drones over Tivoli Quad on the Auraria Campus — is also scheduled for July 10 and 11.
For Denver Potter fans left without a reservation, the official exhibition may be a consolation. It promises authentic props and original costumes from the film productions, along with an exclusive retail space offering limited-edition merchandise, Butterbeer and themed apparel not available at any other Harry Potter experience.
