It’s not gay marriage, per se. … Gays have been accepted at straight bars, and they don’t need a gay bar. A lot of straight bars even have gay nights. And you have the Internet.
—Clem Bellairs, owner of Connecticut’s Cedar Brook Café, the supposed oldest gay bar in the U.S. that just closed its doors, on why establishments like his face uphill battles. (Also, his rent went from $3,800 to $8,000 per month.) [via]
spiritedrandy
Sounds a lot like what the owners of Lambda Rising bookstore in DC said when they closed it. Declaring victory and going home!
:)
I was there the last night. Packed beyond code, took like 15 minutes to get a drink but fun nonetheless. I didn’t too much care for the music they were playing (a lot of 70s gay songs, but since the crowd was mostly guys who were nostalgic for those days I can understand) plus with two dance floors I was able to find something nice at all times by moving around. I got there right before ten and left a little before twelve. Parking was hard to find even then.
I think the real reason it closed was because of the rich douchebags that live in CT. The neighbors frequently complained and the police were known to stake out close by. It’s really their own fault for moving next to a loud gay bar that’s been there for 71 years. But around here you can buy out the neighbors if they don’t act like you.
CC
It was a dirty, smokey pit of a building with cracked amplifiers in its sound system. When the No Smoking law went into effect, the owners ignored it. It has been this dirty place for 10 or 15 years.
If you wanted the clientel, you should have shown some pride in your establishment. I don’t want to go home after a night out with friends and need a radio active scrubdown shower before I go to bed. The owners did this to themselves. I go where I’ll have fun, not because I owe you my business. Sorry Clem, but Gays still like going to Gay bars, Just not yours…