I do not know any information about this particular situation, but I think we all need to keep in mind that even in good economic times, restaurants and bars are among the businesses that fail most often. Restaurants and bars usually do not make enormous profit margins, so small changes in demand can make a huge difference in profit for a small business. So even though Proof may have remained fairly busy, small changes in demand could have had a big impact on the bottom line.

Additionally, some businesses are simply not run well. I am not casting any aspersion's on Proof's owners at all, but my point is just that there are many reasons a bar could be unprofitable, even if it has a good location. To me, the financial health of other bars downtown in worse locations indicates that this is not something caused by downtown's "death," but rather a business closure because of what could be any of a number of factors.