On Thursday nights, the upstairs room is transformed into Club Arriba, featuring Latin music and dancing.
The drag show starts at 10 pm, but beforehand at 9 pm, the club hosts Season 5 of Project Drag, a weekly competition with the winner crowned as a new Showgirls cast member, plus a prize that includes $5000 in cash, $100 gift card from Queen Custom Claws, a gift card from Serena ChaCha Wigs, make up from Camarillo Beauty, and a photo shoot from We Love Queens. Every Monday, Micky’s hosts Showgirls, a drag show led by Morgan McMichaels and a rotating cast of queens, with music by DJ Paulo Ramirez. Located in the heart of WeHo, this nightclub offers up a dance floor every night of the week, regularly blasting Top 40, hip-hop, and Latin soundtracks for the crowd. Here are our favorite LGBTQ bars across LA: In the meantime, mosey on over to any spot on the list below, all of which have resumed business in some form, even if it looks a little different than what they’ve offered in the past. With LA County requiring proof of vaccination in public indoor spaces like restaurants, bars, and clubs beginning on November 4, we’re hopeful that some of our favorite LGBTQ-friendly haunts will soon feel safe opening back up. You might notice that this list feels a little bare-that’s because we opted to omit bars that have since shutdown for good (RIP Oil Can Harrys) and long-standing gay bars (like Fubar and Mother Lode) that have yet to re-open their doors since pandemic shutdowns forced them closed. (pro tip: one of them is in nearby San Diego). Though most of these newcomers still lack permanent locations, we’ve got our fingers crossed that we’ll soon be able to add another entry to the dwindling list of 21 lesbian bars that remain in the U.S.
While the Oxwood Inn, LA County’s last surviving lesbian bar, closed its doors in 2017 after serving the San Fernando Valley for 45 years, we’re happy to report that a new guard is stepping up to create inclusive spaces, ranging from an underground club series to community-oriented queer field trips. This makes it all the more disheartening that so many LGBTQ bars have closed in recent years, and in particular spaces that cater to lesbians, trans women, and other queer identities. More than a place to catch an entertaining drag brunch or dance until you drop, LGBTQ bars sprang up out of necessity to offer those communities safe spaces to meet others, congregate, and of course, celebrate identities that society has not always so readily accepted. Once firmly headquartered in West Hollywood, our city’s LGBTQ scene has since expanded to include worthwhile spots in Silver Lake and Downtown, plus a few roving parties that pop up at different venues around town. Customers also must adhere to physical distancing guidelines, such as not socializing with other people and staying at their table.Following in the example of other nightlife venues and events, LA’s LGBTQ bars are slowly coming back to life and welcoming patrons of all identities, orientations, and proclivities back on their dance floors. If anyone has a fever, they are not allowed to enter.
Before entering, customers have their temperatures taken. The Abbey, which has a large outdoor patio, also is open for business.īusinesses also must follow strict protocol for employees, such as wearing masks and protective face shields. Hamburger Mary’s on Santa Monica Boulevard has taken advantage of that option and offers outdoor dining.
Newsom then abruptly ordered them closed on June 19 as COVID-19 infections continued to climb.īars that serve food and operate as restaurants are allowed to remain open, but only if they serve meals and drinks outside.
They were allowed to re-open June 18 if they followed strict social distancing rules. Gavin Newsom had ordered bars to close in an effort to curb the transmission of the COVID-19 virus in packed places. In June, Club Cobra, the North Hollywood gay Latino bar, announced they would not re-open because their landlord had sold the property.Īlso, Cuties, L.A.’s only queer focused coffee shop, said earlier this month that they are permanently closed due to financial hardship. The shuttering of Flaming Saddles follows the closure of Gym SportsBar, another popular gay location, whose owners said last month that they not to close because they were unable to make a deal with their landlord.