ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – After 16 years in downtown Orlando, The Attic nightclub announced it is closing its doors, adding to growing conversations about redevelopment, rising costs and the changing identity of downtown.
The nightclub posted the announcement Tuesday afternoon on Instagram, prompting an outpouring of reactions online from longtime customers who described the closure as the end of an era for downtown Orlando nightlife.
Matty Bullitt, one of the owners of The Attic and Treehouse nightclub, said operating costs and changes downtown have made it increasingly difficult to stay open.
“We put a lot of money into this place to keep it open,” Bullitt said. “But with another dreadful summer that’s about to come with all the college kids gone, we just gotta stop the bleed.”
Bullitt said expenses including insurance, rent and operational fees have become too difficult to manage.
“We can’t afford operational cost, right? We can’t afford the AMS fees. We can’t afford insurance, rent, all the things that make it impossible to operate,” Bullitt said. “So for now, it’s just closing operations.”
Bullitt added the closure impacts not only ownership, but employees as well.
“Everybody’s out of a job,” Bullitt said. “So it’s not just Attic closing and the ownership taking the loss — it’s everybody included that make this place great.”
The Attic is not the only longtime downtown venue to recently close.
Just blocks away, Tanqueray’s underground jazz bar closed in December 2025. The building manager for the historic Metcalf building told News 6 the space is expected to transition into a coffee shop and light bites eatery. The former TD Bank space above Tanqueray is also expected to become a restaurant called Tropixs under a 10-year lease agreement.
At the same time, downtown Orlando is undergoing broader redevelopment efforts.
Construction is ongoing along Magnolia Avenue, while Orange Avenue and Rosalind Avenue are also expected to transition from one-way streets into two-way roads.
According to meeting documents from Orlando’s Community Redevelopment Agency, the changes are intended to improve pedestrian accessibility downtown.
City leaders have also announced plans to increase parking rates at downtown parking meters and garages beginning this summer.
The combination of business closures, redevelopment projects and rising costs has left some wondering what the future of downtown Orlando will look like as the area continues to evolve.