THEGAYUK

Tag: Bar

All the latest breaking news on the bar scene. Browse The THEGAYUK’s complete collection of features and commentary on bars and pubs.

  • Fresh hopes for the iconic Black Cap in London

    There are new hopes for the reopening of the Black Cap, the iconic gay pub and cabaret venue on Camden High Street, which closed its doors in April 2015.

    Members of the Black Cap Foundation community campaign group to reopen the venue met representatives of Kicking Horse, who own the freehold of the Black Cap site. Representatives of Camden council and the GLA culture-at-risk team were also present.

    All sides agreed to work together to identify a new, third-party leaseholder to reopen the Black Cap as an LGBT+ venue with cabaret performance at its heart as soon as possible.

    Black Cap Foundation director Alex Green said:

    “We’re thrilled at this agreement. This is a crucial step towards our goal of reopening the Black Cap, and we welcome the cooperation of the freeholders and the support of Camden council and the GLA in making that a reality.

    “We’ve always believed the Black Cap’s unique, irreplaceable legacy of community and culture is worth fighting for, and can’t wait to see how it will be reinvented next.” 

    A spokesperson for Kicking Horse said:

    “We very much hope to find the leaseholder with the right vision, experience and resources to begin a brand new chapter for this world-famous venue.”

    The Black Cap has been a space for the gay community since before partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1967. Known as the ‘Palladium of Drag’, it has hosted residencies by groundbreaking performers such as Lily Savage, Mrs Shufflewick and Regina Fong, after whom the pub’s first-floor Shufflewick Bar and Fong Terrace are named. More recently, it was home to the Family Fierce, who showcased acts from RuPaul’s Drag Race.

    Since the 2015 closure, the Black Cap Foundation has maintained a weekly Saturday afternoon vigil outside the pub, celebrating the venue’s past and sharing stories with local residents while campaigning for its reopening.

    The Black Cap’s new leaseholder will take on a 25-year lease for the five-storey building at 171 Camden High Street. The site has Asset of Community Status and sui generis planning use class and requires significant capital expenditure.

     

  • Two Brewers’ manager is a multi-award winner thanks to tireless efforts for the community

    Boss of the Two Brewers in Clapham, Jimmy Smith, has received two of the highest community accolades in recognition of 25 years supporting the LGBT+ community and is up for a 2017 award hat trick adding Great British Best Managed Pub to the honours.

    Having managed almost every prestigious LGBT gay cabaret bar over the last three decades with huge community spirit, it was a surprise only to the humble operator himself when he was called out at the Pride annual dinner last week to be commemorated for outstanding support of the LGBT+ community in London over 25 years.

    Pride London Co-Chair Michael Salter-Church MBE gave Jimmy the honour just a week after the Mayoress of Lambeth had awarded him the ‘Lambeth Coat of Arms’, on the 25th anniversary day of Jimmy joining current employers Stonegate Pub Company.

    “It was the most bizarre experience,” said Jimmy. “I was sat at the event as I do every year, listening to a narrative on this year’s winner and about five minutes in, it dawned on me that they might be talking about me!”

    Also recognising Jimmy’s achievements, Stonegate had entered the Two Brewers into the Great British Pub Awards for Best Managed Pub, and last week got the news that they had been shortlisted in the final six with the chance of taking the title after a final round of judging in August.

    “Talk about an insane two weeks!” added Jimmy.

    But it’s not just awarded adding to the insanity. In the last two weeks alone, Jimmy has raised almost £10,000 for Pride London, Grenfell Tower victims and other local charities totalling £25,000 donated this year, with thousands more in previous years.

    The support isn’t just fundraising with Jimmy chief organiser and advisor to anyone who asks for his support including the Kings Cross Steelers, founded 1995 as the first ever gay inclusive rugby union club; Best Bar None – last year a winner in recognition for his contribution to a safe late night economy; and London Titans Football Club, one of the biggest and most successful LGBT football teams in the United Kingdom.

    If Jimmy does beat all other UK pubs to take Best Managed Pub, the one thing that is guaranteed is dancing in the streets, a huge amount of laughter, and sensational cabaret with every member of the London LGBT+ community celebrating.

    The Great British Pub awards will be presented on 7th September at the London Hilton on Park Lane in London.

  • Vermont LGBT bar changes name after pressure from community

    An LGBT bar in Vermont, USA, has changed its name after a backlash from the LGBT+ community.

    Mister Sister in Winooski in Burlington, Vermont, has changed its name to The Bridge Club after a huge backlash from some in the LGBT+ community. The bar opened in March and has faced calls for boycott because some in the community considered the name, Mister Sister a slur against trans people.

    Defending the name back in March, the bar’s owner, Craig McGaughan, who identifies as gay, said initially,

    “It is a term that has been used among gays and Drag Queens for decades intended to be positively gender-bending,

    “Mister Sister is for the Misters and the Sisters, those that identify as both and everyone in between. The official description of Mister Sister is “a gay bar for him, her and them.

    “I have been very intentional in using a pronoun that isn’t specifically male or female as a way to include anyone that identifies as part of the LGBTQ community.”

    Board members of the Pride Center in Vermont criticised the name. Bailey Cummings, who resigned from the board due said,

    “Basically the name of this bar is a transmisogynistic slur,

    “And I feel strongly as community leaders that the Pride Center is responsible for standing up for our trans community members, and coming out against a slur.”

    Unveiling the new name this week. Mr McGaughan said,

    “I hope everyone finds the humor in going to The Bridge Club to party, sees the nod to the historic Winooski Bridge and recognizes the camaraderie and necessity in building bridges

    “I realize now that I mistakenly listened to the fight rather than the pain. I apologize to anyone that feels personally affected by the actions of myself or the bar. I’m choosing to forgive and would ask for forgiveness in return”.

     

     

  • Molly Moggs is back

    After a short break, the popular drag bar, Molly Moggs is back…

    Molly Moggs has reopened

    The shutters are off and Molly Moggs is back – open and ready for business. The popular pub, one of the must go to bars in London has returned after it closed in March.

    Molly Moggs has broken the spate of the seemingly never-ending sad demise of London’s LGBT scene by reopening. The official reopening day was at the beginning of June and slowly the bar has rescheduled its ever-popular entertainment programme.

    Taking to the official Molly Mogg’s Facebook page the management wrote:

    “You have no idea how excited we are to get into Mollys and start getting ready for Monday!”

     

     

  • Gay bar in Indianapolis is to close

    Gay bar in Indianapolis is to close

    The ever popular 501 Eagle bar in Indianapolis is to close.

    CREDIT: Google Maps 2016

     

    The owners of one of Indianapolis’s busiest gay bars, 501 Eagle has released a statement revealing their plans to close the popular bar in October.

    The owners have told patrons that after twenty-two years of running the venue they’ve made the decision to “retire”.

    “It’s time for my wife, Margie, and I to retire. The 501 Eagle (Tavern) will close forever Oct 15, 2016. Until then we will be open 7 days a week doing blue lite specials on all drinks. It’s been a great 22 year run. Thanks for all your business. Tom n Margie”

    The venue which is focused on serving the bear, leather and pups community of Indianapolis will be closing permanently on the 15th October.

    It is not known whether another owner will take on the bar and continue running the venue as an LGBT establishment.

    ALSO READ: Gay bars that have closed since 2000 in London

     

    Fans of the bar have shared their sorrow for the closure of the venue but wished Tom and Margie well, adding that the couple had been “a shining light in the Indianapolis gay community”and that they would be sorely missed.

  • Another London gay bar closes, Queens Head set to close in September

    Another London gay bar closes, Queens Head set to close in September

    A legendary gay bar in London has announced it is to close.

    CREDIT: Google Maps 2016

     

    The Queen’s Head in Chelsea, London, is set to close after its management said it was unable to “come to reasonable terms for renewal of the lease”.

    The pub, which is one of London’s oldest gay bars is just one of over 100 gay bars that have closed since the year 2000 in London.

    It was an interesting concept for a bar as its setup was mixed for LGBT+ and mixed customers. Two sides of the bar catered for two different audiences.

    A Facebook message confirmed the closure, revealing that the last day of trading would be the 6th September.

    The statement said,

    “Unfortunately it’s true, the Old Lady of Tryon Street will be closing her doors,

    “We’ve been unable to come to reasonable terms for renewal of the lease on the building with our landlords and therefore we’ll be shutting up shop.
    The Queens Head will be back in some form or another but the place that we all know and love will cease to be.

    “We’re bloody gutted as well by the way.”

     

    ALSO READ: One of London’s most iconic gay bars has been saved from the developers.

     

    In a later post, management of the Queen’s Head explained that the pub’s owners, Stonegate Pub Company where not to blame for the closure but the building’s owner saying,

    “If the landlords are asking for too much money then it’s untenable for them to keep the place.

    “They honestly didn’t want to let us go and have been trying for months to come to an agreement with the landlords.”

  • Yard Bar in Soho saved from the developers

    Yard Bar in Soho saved from the developers

    The historic Yard Bar in Soho has been saved after planning inspectors upheld Westminster City Council’s decision to protect it.

    The well-known LGBT venue in the heart of Soho found itself at risk, as the developer, Consolidated Property Corporation Limited, originally submitted plans to build flats over the courtyard area.

    Westminster City Council first blocked those plans in March 2015, but the developer submitted subsequent applications and launched two appeals that were finally rejected in the Planning Inspectorate on 10th August.

    In its final report, the appointed inspector described any move to build over the Yard’s courtyard as one which would “fundamentally alter” the character of the bar.

    The decision represents a full vindication of the council’s two-year battle to protect this much loved Soho bar, which received outstanding support from the local community and the bar’s owners, who led a high-profile ‘Save The Yard’ campaign.

    Cllr Robert Davis MBE DL, Westminster City Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for the Built Environment, said,

    “Soho is one of the most iconic areas of Westminster, with a unique character that everyone at the council is committed to protecting.”

    “The Yard is a jewel in Soho’s crown and I am thrilled that we have joined forces with the ward councillors and the local community to ensure it remains open for business.”

    “I am absolutely delighted that Westminster City Council has been able to play its part in saving this long-standing example of Soho’s history, culture and diversity.”

    The proposals for the development of three flats meant that the courtyard would have been enclosed beneath a glass roof, something which the Soho Society and Historic England also strongly objected to.

    This would mean the loss of an “extremely distinctive feature of the bar and its related culture” said the planning inspector.

    The Yard Bar’s owner, Andy Jones, led the “Save The Yard” campaign which brought the issue to even greater attention.

    He said,

    “It has been a very long battle and we are so delighted that we have been successful. The support we got from Westminster City Council, ward councillors, Historic England, Soho Society, heritage experts and the LGBT, business and residential communities was huge and unbelievable. We can’t thank everyone enough. Ultimately, all of their support helped to overcome the multiple applications and common sense has prevailed. Long live The Yard!”

  • WE ASKED | What things do you really hate about the gay scene in 2016

    WE ASKED | What things do you really hate about the gay scene in 2016

    We asked our readers what they really hated about the gay scene in 2016…

    As always you were open, honest and sometimes damming.

     

    STEPHEN DOYLE

    Hen nights. P*ss off down your own clubs with your fancy dress and blow up penises.

    JOHN CHARLES

    Well a straight strip club is about to open in Birmingham gay village. The sh*t will hit the fan, it’s right across from the Nightingale Club.

    JAY JAY PINKABELLE

    Screaming queens who think LGBT culture is American f*cking drag race!

    JACKSON PERRY

    Casual racism “no Asians, no blacks” how about no c*nts???? They need to p*ss off.

    PAUL HOLMES

    The guys who carry their bags on their limp wrists around town, the very feminate (sic) ones with screaching (sic) voices and the camp ones. I know each of us are different, but can’t they tone it down a bit.

    MARK MARSH

    Ageist attitudes, and A list queens looking down their surgically enhanced conks at us lesser mortals.

    This was taken from Issue 20. Download now for free.

  • 17 things you only know if you’ve been a go-go boy in a gay bar

    17 things you only know if you’ve been a go-go boy in a gay bar

    “He’s the greatest dancer”, so says the song – well ever wondered what goes on in the head of a go-go boy?

    1) White Pants are a wardrobe must.

    ©-arkusha-Depositphotos
    ©-arkusha-Depositphotos

    Don’t ask us why. It’s the go go law.

    2) You must be tanned – from top to toe.

    Your tan will be beautifully set off by those tiny white trunkies.

    3) You can be a fronty or a backy…

    Those are the rules – you’re either a bubble, bootilcious beauty or a elephant’s trunk. Them the rules. Not many people can be both.

    4) Everybody spends the whole evening looking at your package

    Which is fine. Actually it’s kinda hot.

    5) Men are gropers

    Which is not that fine… actually – and the Hen nights can be even worse.

    ALSO READ: Things you only know if you’ve worked in a gay bar

    ALSO READ: What is a white glove bottom?

    6) We’re not sex workers or porn stars so don’t ask about our rates…

    You can go window shopping, but don’t expect to use the credit card. Some guys might be, but generally not.

    7) When the money comes in it washes away the ick feeling

    8) Vogueing is a key move, if you don’t know how to do it you’re destined to fail.

    Go back to go go school if you don’t know it.

    9) We’re freakin’ trained dammit.

    Not saying we’re beneath this, but three years at Arts Ed for this? There’s actually knowledge I’m pulling off here. Fosse Fosse Fosse.

    10) We see you try to dance up on this…

    The only difference is, we’re sober and you’re a drunken mess. So quit while you’re ahead.

    11) If you’re dancing in a jockstrap – don’t bend over.

    CREDIT: Mbruxelle-bigstock
    CREDIT: Mbruxelle-bigstock

    Showing the entire bar your chocolate starfish isn’t the way forward.

    12) For some reason, long striped socks seems to be a “thing”

    Go for it. We really found out that people are calling them “sex socks“.

    13) We’re dying for a freakin chocolate bar/burger/pint of Stella.

    You have to gym it, eat clean and be bloat free. All those boring things in order to be picture perfect.

    14) Why can’t there be a plus size or even an average body go go boy.

    I mean come on bar owners – we’re not in the 90s anymore.

    15) If you offer us a double vodka/line of coke/a small holdings in Dorset/blow job

    We’ll probably say no…

    16) We know you’re trying to get a sneaky peak at our junk when you’re putting cash into our jocks…

    The more established of us will be on to this and be wearing a discreet smaller pair of undies…

    17) Every Halloween, you must must must

    CREDIT © Meggan | Depositphotos
    CREDIT © Meggan | Depositphotos

    Wear Angel wings.

  • BAR REVIEW | Myki Sand Bar Sails into Soho

    ★★ | Myki Sand Bar

    Archer Street Bar Soho, oddly enough on Archer Street, when mentioned might send an immediate dentist-implement-touching-nerve to your heart. This used to be the bricks and mortar that housed a guaranteed-tug-in-the-toilets bar and felt like throwing-shapes-on-three-week-old-pina-colada dance floor, once known as Barcode Soho. The good old days: still missed by many, we are sure.

    What London needed, and of course what this great country needed, was another heterosexual establishment. Archer Street Bar draws a clientele that travels to Ascot by coach, buys their fascinators from Debenhams and still thinks holidaying in Ibiza is cool.

    Myki Sand Bar is located on the lower ground floor where the sticky dance floor once resided, and is billed as ‘London’s first beach club bar’ – a pop-up until late 2016. White and blue sails hang from the ceiling, white painted wooden boards, blue cushions, sandbox seating areas and some scattered beach balls – an impersonation of Neptune’s from ITV’s Benidorm.

    It would have been quicker to fly to Mykonos and sample an authentic Greek cocktail – the beach boys behind the bar were as quick as a deflating lilo.

    Parched, but eager to sample, we started with a Myki’s signature cocktail, Heatwave: Ciroc vodka, peach liqueur, chilli bitters and orgeat served martini-style at £12.50. Peachy with a sand-in-ya-eye chilli twist – worth its weight in budgie-smugglers.

    Corporate functions and those who think they are worthy of a ‘VIP booth’ (Myki’s has a few) will like the setup.

    Our next tipple, Boys of the Summer: Ciroc pineapple, blood peach puree, lime juice, vanilla topped with Billecart Salmon champagne. It was like drinking breakfast juice – maybe they thought one cocktail was enough for us gays and didn’t add the alcohol. At £14.50 a pop we could have better spent on two bottles of Factor 15 Piz Buin – what a waste.

    If you want sand this summer head to Kent’s Botany Bay or hop on a plane.  If you want over-priced but decent cocktails, head to Ham Yard Hotel or The Blind Pig at The Social Eating House – both in Soho. And if you want to wear a Hawaiian shirt – best not to leave the house.

    Myki Sand Bar Opening Hours: Thurs–Sat: 4pm–1am

    Private Hire: Monday – Saturday

    Capacity: 220

    Archer Street |3-4 Archer Street Soho London W1D 7AP T – 020 7734 3342 www.archerstreet.co.uk
    bookings@archerstreet.co.uk

  • 11 Things You Only Know If You Have Worked In A Gay Bar

    Ah the gay bar. Home of drag, porn on the TV and hen nights.

    If you’ve ever worked in a gay bar you will have seen it all – the fights, the make ups, the ridiculously sticky floor the back pages of Boyz magazine.

    They put up with your aftershave, your drunken “banter” and they get paid less than the go-go boys.

    So next time you’re in your local give a thought to the cutie between the bar.

    1) The more pert your pecs the bigger the tips

    ©-artofphoto-Depositphotos
    ©-artofphoto-Depositphotos

    Yep. Basically gay bars are the homo version of hooters. The more pert you are the bigger your tips will be.

    2) The champagne wankers

    You, yes you drinking the cheapest Champagne on the menu thinking you’re the best thing since Brad Pitt’s sliced bread. You might be fooling yourself, but that ain’t Vivienne Westwood you’re wearing and you’re definitely not a 30 inch waist.

    The more obtuse you become the longer I’ll make you wait.

    3) The Smells

    Ahhh there’s nothing like the smell of D10, Jean Paul Gaultier and poppers in the morning.

    4) Those bastard safer sex packs

    Who the eff thinks it’s funny to blow up the safe sex pack of condoms and use them as beach balls across the dance floor. At the end of the night the floor is literally filled with dirty, used looking deflated extra strong condoms.

    5) Those bastard free bar magazines

    Spilled your drink? Don’t worry use one of the free rags. We honestly don’t mind picking those sodden tattered rags up at the end of evening. Honestly. Bastards.

    6) The fights

     It’s not always the boys… Girls calm down…

    7) Kylie and Madonna on repeat

    Just because we’re gay and Madge and Kyles are both gay icons they don’t need to be on repeat constantly – and the live version of Madonna’s “Vogue” is crap. Play the real version dammit.

    8) The drag queens

    Drinking your way through the profits. Don’t think we don’t see what you’re doing. Bravo.

    9) Being made to go flier

    here’s literally nothing worse than being made to go flier out in the cold. The shame if my ex-boyfriend sees me.

    10) Bumping into your ex.

    Of all the gay bars in all the world, you have to turn up in my place of work with the turnip you call your new boyfriend.

    11) Hen parties are literally the worst.

    When you walk in. All I’m thinking is F**K OFF