Closed gay bars in austin

Austin is the closed queerest city in the country, by some estimates. So why doesn't it have any lesbian bars? Like those cities, Austin has a super long, colorful queer history — and lesbian bars were a big part of it. Chances on Red River Street was also a favorite. Laura Votaw, who died inco-owned Rusty's.

There were business deals made in that bar. Gay were romances started. You have to remember that austin many of these bars opened, queer love wasn't as accepted. The U. They were safe havens. The biggest, though, being that restaurants and bars are just tough ventures. They have the highest failure rates of any businesses, she said.

Austin does have Fourth Street, where Oilcan Harry's and other gay bars have been around since the s. But a larger gayborhood could help lesbian bars and other queer-owned businesses stay gay and profitable. Erica Rose is a co-founder of the Lesbian Bar Project, which raises money to help keep lesbian bars open.

KUT isn't able to explain why each and every lesbian bar in Austin closed, but money was a big reason behind some closures. Chances closed in because of rising taxes and new liability risks. Rent hikes shuttered Rusty's. When it closed init billed itself as "the bar lesbian bar in Austin.

Just because Dallas and Houston have larger gayborhoods, does not mean keeping bars in business is easy. Jack founded the bar in Dallas' Oak Lawn neighborhood in Today, it's one of only two lesbian bars left in Texas.

What happened to Austin's lesbian bars?

The other one, Pearl Bar, is in Houston. Jack said Sue Ellen's parent company owns four other bars in the Dallas gayborhood. If one bar is struggling, it can get a leg up from one of the others. Austin may not have a lesbian bar, but there are a ton of other social options for queer women in the city.

And inclusive queer country events like Neon Rainbows with live music and linedancing. These pop-up events and performance spaces may be temporary. But they are meaningful safe places for folks to queer it up.