You won’t find that price anywhere else in New York City. Also, the cocktails are delicious and strong, priced at only $8, and beers are $4. There’s also a karaoke party every Sunday - Thursday night and drag show on weekends, keeping the energy high seven days a week, 52 weeks a year. The popcorn shrimp and fries are delicious! They also have a small menu where you can order Indian food from the restaurant next door. Upon walking in, you will see an extensive bar on the right, and on the left are a few circular booths where you can get cozy in. It’s often more on the low-key side, except when they are airing new episodes of Ru Paul’s Drag Race. “The loss of anchor institutions will definitely affect the gayborhood in deeper and more profound ways than other businesses,” he said.īryan Womack, a Govans resident who performs as drag personality Naomi Ratchet, said the sale of Grand Central has soured him to Mount Vernon and Baltimore as a whole.Suite is a quaint, dimly-lit gay bar on the Upper West Side. The closing of gay bars and clubs that have historic meaning and are significant attractions are particularly troubling to Ghaziani. The fact that cities are now creating these official positions, tell us that cities recognize that nightlife is actually a very significant part of the overall economic profile of the city,” Ghaziani said. New York just appointed the city’s first Night Czar. “People are tuning into it - at least large cities that have the resources to create positions like that. That prompted the naming of a London Night Czar in 2017. In London, for example, 58 percent of LGBTQ clubs closed from 2006 to 2016, compared to 44 percent of straight clubs in the same period. Globally, gay nightlife has seen a decline in recent years, according to Amin Ghaziani, author of “There Goes the Gayborhood?” and associate professor of sociology at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. “Destination cities like New York and San Francisco will always have them,” he said. Leloudis said that the recent closure in Mount Vernon doesn’t bode well for the future of gay bars. “No one wants to see another gay bar shut down.”
“Clearly they are depressed about it,” said Joseph Leloudis, a 42-year-old bartender there. I’m the son of two dads who grew up seeing them go to the Hippo.”Īt Leon’s, a dimly lit rectangle of a bar in Mount Vernon known for its “heavy pours,” two-for-one daily happy hour and a motley crew of gay male clientele, the mood has been somber, though business has remained steady. I never thought I would see that,” Keens said. “The beginning of the end was when the Hippo turned into a CVS. “We’re trying to be a refuge for the drag community for sure and an LGBTQ safe space for everyone else as well.”Īnd while Point South has been extremely successful in their drag events - almost all of them sell out - Keens said it’s still sad to see the crumbling of gay establishments in the city. This is the home of Divine and ‘Hairspray,’” Keens said. The drag community can’t be allowed to fizzle out in Baltimore.
“Supporting local drag is important to us.
2016, due in large part to the closing of Club Hippo, according to Bryson Keens, managing partner of the Fells Point restaurant that specializes in Latin cuisine. Point South Latin Kitchen has been throwing successful drag brunches and bingo nights since Sept. “If it becomes just a regular bar - something that you can find in Canton or Fells Point? No, I will not support that,” Chavis said.Īs dedicated gay bars have dwindled, other establishments have been filling the void with events like drag shows and gay nights. And he bristles at the thought of Grand Central turning into a straight establishment. Still, Chavis wishes that he could have more gay clubs to frequent. And when they go out, chances are you’ll find them at The Brewer’s Art or Owl Bar.