The Lesbian Bar Project Seeks to Save the Dying Lesbian Bar

In many areas across the country, there are no dedicated lesbian bars. Erica Rose and Elina Street have been trying to do something about that. Ever since reading an NBC News article during the pandemic that claimed that only roughly 16 lesbian bars remained across the country, the pair has been calling attention to the issue.

They started The Lesbian Bar Project, a fundraising effort and documentary highlighting the dwindling number of lesbian bars around the country. The filmmakers found the actual number of lesbian bars around the country to be a little higher than 16. But a meager 27 bars is still not that many, especially when compared to over 200 in the 1980s.

According to the project’s website, they first launched in 2020 with a PSA produced by Jägermeister and a fundraising campaign. That effort brought in $117K. In 2021, they released a short-form documentary and started another fundraising campaign that raised $150K split between all 27 bars. Their documentary short won multiple awards and was picked up by AMC+/Sundance TV. Last October, The Roku Channel picked up the project as a three-episode docu-series hosted by Lea Delaria. According to an Instagram post, the docu-series won a GLAAD media award in late March.

“I will meet people who are older, people who are younger, and I’ll feel like I’m part of this ecosystem that will ultimately push me to be the best person that I can be,” Street tells Gay Cities about her connection to the project. “They continue to be where I can exhale and be my authentic self with my friends and my community and feel prioritized,” she continues.

Also, don’t worry if you’re a local reader here in Denver. We do have one of the 27 remaining lesbian bars here in our own backyard, Blush & Blu, at 1 526 E. Colfax Ave., as well as plenty of bars that are focused more on the whole community rather than just gay men.