You may be wondering how a bar jumped more than 50 spaces to take the top of the list. There are 17 new entries on the list, including Parliament House which (spoiler alert) grabbed the top spot. And which bars were the most popular in that year’s time? The answers will surprise you. This list tracks gay bar attendance from November 1, 2017, through October 31, 2018. But there’s no one way to do it: What what works in Peoria doesn’t necessarily work in Pasadena.īut measuring how popular a bar is, that’s all in the numbers.ĭata collected by Gravy Analytics, a location-based marketing platform, tracks mobile data to verify attendance at places and events throughout the United States. The best bars mix ambience, a frisson of energy, and the right vibes.
But what they lack in physique and beauty, they always made up with enthusiasm.The ingredients for the perfect gay bar are not as obvious as the ingredients for a perfect cocktail. "The male dancers (at EJ's) are not quite up to the standards (of the flashier bars). "He offers a different atmosphere for different people," Hill notes.Įven so, there's something sad about the passing of bars that have a distinctive character and don't care about being trendy, Hill says. "It's not so much a cruising or pick-up place as much as a casual meeting center."Īlso, Hill noted that such bars "are culturally based and as the culture changes, they have to change with the times." He notes that several Montrose gay bars owned by Charles Armstrong, including South Beach, JR's Bar & Grill and the Montrose Mining Company, have continued to thrive by staying current. Ray Hill, the dean of Houston's gay community, says he is not surprised by such closings as EJ's, Chances, the former lesbian bar that was transformed into Underbelly restaurant by James Beard Award-winning chef Chris Shepherd and Mary's, the former leather bar replaced by the ultra-trendy Blacksmith coffee house. "The function of the bar has changed," Hill says. This is the price we pay for greater acceptance in the mainstream community, but our community has found other ways to connect and support each other, and that is something to celebrate." While I believe there will always be a need for LGBT bars, the writing is on the wall for the need for so many LGBT bars. We have evolved a long way since 1974 - the Police no longer raid gay bars, HIV and AIDS (for most) are chronic but manageable diseases that no longer unites us in fear, or separates us from the straight community because of ignorance and intolerance, everyone has access to affordable health care, straight bars are safer and more inviting for us, and the Internet has made “other” aspects of our lives “easier.” Think back to the number of LGBT bars that existed 10, 20, even 30 years ago, as opposed to how many LGBT bars are in Montrose now. The Montrose community has changed much in the last ten years, and it is at a significant crossroads. "Any bar, like most good things, has a shelf life, and it is better to end this adventure while things are good," he wrote, adding, But he posted a detailed letter on the bar's Facebook page confirming the closing.
The current owner did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment. There is also speculation that the property could be demolished to make way for a townhome development. The bar, in a prime location behind Buffalo Exchange near the intersection of Dunlavy and Westheimer, has been sold to a California development company, which plans to renovate the building into a hip restaurant and bar, a longtime bartender told CultureMap. After more than 40 years as a Montrose institution, the bar is closing on June 30, after Houston's annual LGBT Pride Festival and Parade weekend. The latest casualty of the changing times is EJ's Bar, a neighborhood dive known for go-go dancers, drag shows and a freewheeling clientele. As Montrose land gets pricier and more attractive to affluent Houstonians at a time when gay and lesbians have become more assimilated into mainstream society, its scruffy alternative establishments continue to be snuffed out.