I’ve read a lot of Sapphic Novels (probably close to 2,000 by now) and very few of them either feature or even mention Lesbian/Sapphic bars. Not even the ones set back in the eighties when there were a hell of a lot more of them. I remember reading an article a few years back about The Lesbian Bar Project that celebrates the remaining few lesbian bars that still remain (less than thirty). This documentary came out in 2021, thus after the pandemic, I fear several more have closed and according to an article I just read in the Advocate titled, Ladies’ Night, by Krista Burton, only a few dozen remain. Krista Burton wrote a book about her journey across the US to visit those remaining bars called Moby Dyke. I might have to buy this book! So hopefully not that many have closed since the documentary mentioned twenty-nine that were still open. Back in the eighties, there were around two hundred and that probably doesn’t count the ones that were considered gay bars where both men and women frequently them.
Back in the day, nearly every city I lived in, large or small had a place to go. Of course, large cities like Seattle had several to choose from: a dancing rowdy bar popular with the younger crowd, a classic bar catering more to professional women, and a small cafe-like bar called The WildRose. Even Bellingham, a college town, with around fifty thousand people had a gay bar where the women occupied one side and the men, the other. There was an actual wall separating us, but when the drag show or Halloween celebration happened, we happily mingled with one another. I am happy to state that one bar I used to go to, The WildRose in Seattle, still exists. It claims to be the oldest lesbian bar in the US. I believe what they really mean is that it is the oldest lesbian bar still open in the US. Another bar in NYC claims that title, but after researching this, The WildRose opened five years earlier in 1986. The actual oldest lesbian bar, which is no longer open was the San Francisco’s Mona’s 440 Club, which opened in 1936. The history of lesbian bars cites that these women-only bars started popping up in the 1950s, serving predominantly, working-class lesbians, white and black. Sadly, I believe that men’s bars have survived much better than women’s bars. The theory is that gay men have more money and women just don’t support their bars to the same extent as men. Another theory is that women tend to partner up quickly and stop going to bars after they get all domestic with their partners. Although, I remember going to the bars when I had a girlfriend, and my wife and I still go to bars to have a drink, so I’m not sure that theory flies. It was just nice to have a space to go where I felt safe and knew that these were my peeps. With the increased attacks on our community, I wonder if these safe, comfortable spaces will become more popular now, at least with older lesbians, like myself, who would probably love a place to get a drink where you’re surrounded by other lesbians and women loving women.
As I try to remember all the books I’ve written, it’s no surprise that there are only a few where I can remember mentioning a lesbian bar. One is my debut novel, Live Forever, Love Forever. I pulled from my experience going to The Wildrose when I was younger and accompanied my ex who used to perform there. In this novel, it highlights when the main character meets the love of her life. The others are in The Trophy Wives Club series I co-wrote with Ali Spooner. My main character in Pleasure Workers gets a job at the one remaining bar in Atlanta (Sisters-based on an actual bar that still exists). Because I loved the character, Chancy, who is the charming bartender at Sisters, Ali and I decided to continue the series with Heart Strings Attached, an age gap featuring Chancy and Remy, who is the mature high society woman and best friend of the owner of The Trophy Wives Club, an adult playground for the Atlanta elite women who are not getting their needs met by their stuffy husbands. Just click the links below to check out my books, including my recent trilogy that sadly does not feature a lesbian bar.
Audio links: Audible in US Audible in UK
Audio links: Audible in US Audible in UK
Now in Audio ! Audio links: Audible in US Audible in UK
Recent double Award-Winning novel….
Amazon Germany Book 4 in the Trophy Wives Club Series
Links to the Books in Audible:
Undercover Love Politics of Love Love Bonds Sculpting Her Heart Disconnected Artist Free Zone Locked Inside
Proud to be an Affinity Rainbow Publications author!
Annette Mori 
There’s one lesbian bar that’s still open in the Columbus, Ohio area, Slammers, that I’ve been to many times but less so now that I live more than an hour away. For a long time the aunt of my wife’s best friend owned it, but she retired and sold it to someone who kept it exactly as it was and continued to do well with it. I/we haven’t been there since before the pandemic now and pre having 4 kiddos in the house but we still see mention of it pop up online all the time so it’s still going strong.
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Yes I saw that one on the list!
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