Topeka's Wild Horse Saloon was set to close, but new owner may have bought it 'a little bit of time'

A long-standing Topeka business closed its doors this past weekend, but the doors may reopen.

Last month, after regional supervisor of Wild Horse Saloon Jim Krause announced that April 1 would be the last night of The Wild Horse Saloon, 3249 S.W. Topeka Bouelvard, Julie Pamplin Castaneda felt the urge to save the long-standing Topeka establishment.

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Building owners pushed back after Krause said the closure was due to "poor building maintenance due to the part of the landlords," citing such examples as the roof caving in and two broken heaters out of three total.

But after seeing members of the community devastated by the closure announcement, Castaneda said she was ready to buy the Wild Horse Saloon 'a little bit of time.'

Making Wild Horse a safe place for women to attend

Castaneda signed a month-to-month rental agreement last week, and although she doesn't know how long she will remain in the location, she hopes it's long enough to save the nightlife at the Wild Horse Saloon while making it a safe place for women to go.

"I want a place where women can dress up, go out, feel safe, feel beautiful, and have fun with their friends," Castaneda said. "It's hard to find a place in Topeka that truly cares about the woman's experience. And that's what I want. I don't want you to come to our place for a beer, I want you to come for an experience."

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While the saloon is prominent for its country music and dance floor filled with line dancing, she hopes to hear feedback from the community for what they'd like to see during business hours.

"I'm hoping that when we get open, people just come out and they support it," Castaneda said. "We're going to make changes that will, I think, be exciting for people without really changing the format of what we're doing on Friday and Saturday nights. We still want that to be a dance club."

The Wild Horse Saloon will remain closed for the time being, but Castaneda hopes to reopen its doors by the beginning of May.

'A local cowgirl saving the Wild Horse'

While living on a ranch just south of Topeka, Castaneda raises American Quarter Horses for performing sports while also saving animals, and though the Wild Horse will be a new form of rescue, she said she's just 'a local cowgirl saving The Wild Horse.'

With Krause's post pointing to the roof caving in and two broken heaters out of three total, Castaneda said she can understand 'why nobody may have wanted to invest in the building', because the building still contains many unknowns.

Before bringing life back into the bar, her first order of business is to address the needs of the building.

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"I've talked to some of the staff that work there, and they've been dealing with no heater, and I don't think it's going to be much of a problem right now," Castaneda said. "Structurally the building is okay. It's not falling down, you know, it's passed inspection so that's good."

Coming from a family of nightclub and bar workers, Castaneda said she isn't nervous about going into the business as she knows she is taking a risk that she hopes Topeka will support.

"The bar owning community in Topeka has been so supportive," Castaneda said. "When I've asked questions and gone and looked at what other people are doing, people have just flown, opened their doors and are so happy to help out and answer my questions."

Keishera Lately is the business reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. She can be reached at klately@cjonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @Lately_KT.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Julie Pamplin Castaneda will rent and re-open Topeka's Wild Horse Saloon