The staff was super awesome about ejecting unruly people - gay and straight - but I wouldn’t wanna deal with those headaches again.” Nothing like physical violence ever happened, but there were occasional verbal insults exchanged. “The regular clientele didn’t always jive super well with our crowd. “There were issues that occurred with the Matador being a ‘straight’ bar,” Walton says. Wesley Walton (aka DJ Ill Camino), the promoter behind the popular dance night Maricón, says he’s not likely to bring any more events to straight venues after a challenging experience hosting his night at Northwest Portland’s Matador Bar.
While queer nights at mainstream establishments increasingly offer that security and, at least temporarily, that dynamic - neither is guaranteed. Regardless of ownership, he adds, it should feel like the opposite of a straight bar - with gays in the majority and heterosexuals as outsiders. It doesn’t have to be boys or girls or leather or whatever,” says Scandals owner David Fones. “I guess I would define a gay bar as a place where people feel safe. On the flip side, just because a bar has a gay owner (like his does), doesn’t mean it’s a gay bar. Olson doesn’t think a gay bar needs to be gay-owned, though it helps to have some familiarity with the community. “To me, a gay bar is a designated space for homosexual individuals to meet, feel comfortable about themselves, not have to ‘explain’ themselves, have drinks - obviously - and hopefully flirt a little bit if that’s important,” says Craig Olson, co-owner of North Portland neighborhood bar :vendetta. Photo by Jules Garza, PQ Monthly.Īs more and more queer events crop up outside of traditional gay establishments, it begs the question - how many gays does it take to turn a bar? How important are ownership, programming, and intent? Justin Leon Johnson catches some rays on Scandals’ patio. So why all the anxiety and hype about the death of the gay bar? Times are changing, it’s true - just not in the ways people fear. But despite the recent losses, Portland still boasts a significant number of gay (if not lesbian) bars, including Boxxes, CC Slaughters, Hobo’s, Crush, Local Lounge, the Eagle, Casey’s, and Joq’s. Meanwhile, some of the city’s most popular dance nights are being held at mainstream venues like Holocene, the Foggy Notion, White Owl Social Club, Mississippi Studios, Jones Bar, Branx/Rotture, and The Know. There’s SHINY Music Hall (an all-inclusive venue run by promoter Samuel Thomas), Vancouver’s Tiger Lily Restaurant and Bar (started by NW Gender Alliance President Jackie Stone), and, more recently, Temporary Lesbian Bar, an occasional women-focused space at Mississippi Pizza Pub dreamed up by Katy Davidson (read more here). The Egyptian Club/E-Room/Weird Bar and Vancouver’s North Bank in 2011, Red Cap Garage in 2012, and Hamburger Mary’s in 2013.īut for every bar lost, something new has emerged. Four Portland-area LGBTQ bars have gone out of business in the last two years. Some blame assimilation, others, diversification. The gay bar is dead, dying, going the way of the dodo. Photo by Izzy Ventura, PQ Monthly.Ĭhances are, you’ve heard the rumor. This is a developing story and will be updated accordingly.Ross Milam mixes it up at Red Cap. Embers is located just outside the police-protected border of Old Town, Chinatown’s entertainment district, as is every neighborhood LGBTQ-catering nightlife business, including Darcelle XV’s Showplace, CC Slaughter’s and Stag PDX. The Oregonian included Embers in its May 2017 list of best places to dance in Portland ( Vanguard also included Embers on a similar list in January). The administrator declined to provide their identity without family or managerial permission.Įmbers, located on the corner of NW Broadway and Couch, is featured on and frequently highlighted on LGBTQ travel and culture websites. Through Facebook, an anonymous page administrator verified details about Suss’ stroke and condition, but asked those specifics not be published without the consent of Suss or his family. 28, Embers’ owner Steve Suss suffered a stroke, which leaves Embers to “no longer operate as a business.” The bar first open in 1969 and will remain open on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights this week, ceasing operation on Friday morning.Īccording to a post from Embers’ official Facebook posted around 8 p.m.
Embers Avenue, a gay bar and staple of Portland’s Old Town Chinatown, just announced it will close its doors in 48 hours after nearly 50 years in business.