![]() ![]() Even though some of them may seem silly, Bates said, right now that kind of event is especially important to the bar’s mission. They were the one who pitched half of the events on the new calendar, including the dating show trivia night. So Bates, despite recently leaving the service industry, approached Gibson and let her know they had management experience and would be willing to help out. “And everyone was saying ‘Look, we have a lesbian bar, but there’s X, Y and Z issues with it.’” “I was hearing what my friends were saying they would like to see in the bar,” Bates said. River Bates, one of Gibson’s new hires, was also there that evening. But later on, just before the bar closed that night, she called the evening “magical.” Business consultant Tina Sapia wasn’t sure line dancing would interest anyone. It’s taken Gibson some time to come around to the new changes, but turnout is increasing.Īt the recent line dancing event, Gupton said she’d never seen so many people in the bar. Rainbow flags she put up early on have stayed, but she added more, like the lesbian, transgender and bisexual Pride flags, to be more inclusive. The bar’s old raunchy posters and decorative glasses had to go. “A gay bar has to do a little bit more to stay afloat,” she said.įor the potential of success, Gibson had to forgo her dive bar vision. Regular patron and Clearwater resident Nora Gupton isn’t surprised by the additions. The biggest addition, though, has been crafting a regular schedule of events, like queer line dancing lessons and a trivia night based on the popular Netflix reality show “The Ultimatum: Queer Love.” In the hopes of achieving longevity, Gibson brought in new staff members who have suggested everything from redoing the menu to establishing a larger social media presence. The bar has been in a state of transition since it opened, she said. When the bar was finally secured, she felt she could make it the place she always wanted it to be. She sold the properties she’d accumulated during her years out of state and maxed out her credit cards. Instead, she put everything she had into buying the bar. She thinks it’s because she receives disability benefits. Her longtime bank wouldn’t grant her a loan. It’s accessible, which is exactly what she wanted.įinding a location turned out to be the easy part. To Gibson, though, the place was perfect: easy to get to from Tampa and right in the middle of Pinellas County. She said people she sought advice from were skeptical of the Largo location because it was in a strip mall with a Black barber and beauty shop, as well as a soul food restaurant. Gibson was determined to fill that gap, but it was difficult. “When I came back to Florida in 2015, that’s all I saw,” she said. Want more of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get started. Gibson was explaining all this on a recent evening while working behind the bar, and a customer slid her some cash. And that’s not even accounting for unexpected hardships: One day it’s a busted circuit breaker, and the next it’s a refrigerator full of spoiled food. Without a consistent flow of patrons, it’s difficult to recoup losses. But a few weeks after, she said, the donations dried up. She opened the bar in April 2022 because she felt the area needed a women’s bar, specifically one where queer women were centered, but was met with low traffic and financial difficulties.īefore hosts of the “Cruising” podcast, which visits lesbian bars around the nation, stopped by in April and filmed a TikTok video, Gibson said she was “$38,000 in the hole.” The attention that immediately followed the visit led to $40,000 raised for the bar through GoFundMe and an uptick in support. Every day brings a new onslaught of challenges. Running one of the few remaining lesbian bars isn’t easy - just ask owner Vicki Gibson. Sure, there are gay bars much closer, but lesbian bars are different, says The Lesbian Bar Project, because of their “prioritization of creating space for people of marginalized genders, including women (regardless if they are cis or trans), non-binary folks and trans men.” ![]()
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