America’s gay bars
are closing — one
city at a time.
We’ve documented 32 gay bar and nightclub closures, rebrands and relocations across 22 cities — each with a source, 16 of them in 2026. The Las Vegas Eagle after 38 years. Knoxville’s Club XYZ after 22. Milwaukee’s gay bar of 57 years. Alongside it: where the bars still are, and the 13 documented openings of 2026, month by month.
Open gay bars,
city by city.
The other side of the story: where the bars still are. Open LGBTQ+ bars and clubs Out x Out tracks in each metro right now — with a link to that city’s full guide where we’ve published one. The national count, state by state, is on How Many Gay Bars Are in the US?
| # | City | Open gay bars | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York City, NY | 62 | Top gay bars |
| 2 | San Francisco, CA | 34 | Top gay bars |
| 3 | Chicago, IL | 34 | Top gay bars |
| 4 | Los Angeles, CA | 32 | Top gay bars |
| 5 | Washington D.C., DC | 21 | Top gay bars |
| 6 | Dallas, TX | 19 | Top gay bars |
| 7 | Fort Lauderdale, FL | 18 | Top gay bars |
| 8 | San Diego, CA | 16 | Top gay bars |
| 9 | Atlanta, GA | 15 | Top gay bars |
| 10 | Seattle, WA | 14 | Top gay bars |
| 11 | San Antonio, TX | 14 | Top gay bars |
| 12 | San Juan, PR | 14 | Top gay bars |
| 13 | New Orleans, LA | 14 | Top gay bars |
| 14 | Houston, TX | 13 | Top gay bars |
| 15 | Phoenix, AZ | 12 | Top gay bars |
| 16 | Denver, CO | 12 | Top gay bars |
| 17 | Las Vegas, NV | 12 | Top gay bars |
| 18 | Columbus, OH | 12 | Top gay bars |
| 19 | Palm Springs, CA | 12 | Top gay bars |
| 20 | Portland, OR | 11 | Top gay bars |
| 21 | Philadelphia, PA | 11 | Top gay bars |
| 22 | Long Beach, CA | 10 | Browse gay venues |
| 23 | Orlando, FL | 9 | Top gay bars |
| 24 | Detroit, MI | 9 | Browse gay venues |
| 25 | St. Louis, MO | 9 | Top gay bars |
| 26 | Minneapolis, MN | 8 | Top gay bars |
| 27 | Nashville, TN | 8 | Top gay bars |
| 28 | Milwaukee, WI | 8 | Top gay bars |
| 29 | Providence, RI | 7 | Browse gay venues |
| 30 | Boston, MA | 7 | Top gay bars |
| — | Rest of the U.S. · 75 more cities | 212 | All cities |
689 open LGBTQ+ bars and clubs in the U.S. cities Out x Out covers (Gay Friendly bars not counted). A complete count of what we track as open — not a claim about every bar in each city. “Top gay bars” links go to the full city guide where one exists.
Openings by month,
2026.
Every documented US gay, lesbian and queer bar or nightclub opening we have a source for this year, January through October — with the city, our venue page where we have one, and the report it comes from. Months with nothing listed say so.
January 2026
none documentedFebruary 2026
none documentedMarch 2026
2 documented openings605 S 3rd St, Queen Village (PhillyVoice). Owners Clover Gilfor and Julia Harris call it Philly's first lesbian bar since the Toasted Walnut closed in 2021; a soft launch ran February 14 (Philadelphia Gay News) and it officially opened to a packed house on Wednesday March 18, 2026 (Billy Penn).
- Prism·Medford·queer bar·opened Mar 20
123 S Front St, Suite B, downtown Medford, Oregon. Described by the Downtown Medford Association as 'the Rogue Valley's first dedicated LGBTQ+ bar'; grand opening March 20–21, 2026 in a newly renovated space next to Oh's Osaka.
April 2026
2 documented openings1622 W Belmont Ave, Lakeview. A 'classic neighborhood dive bar' from Whitney LaMora and Zoe Schor, owners of the lesbian bar Dorothy; opened April 9, 2026 and was quickly at capacity with a line down the block.
954 W Belmont Ave, the former Berlin nightclub (closed late 2023). Axios reported the new owner, HV Entertainment (Fantasy, Bobby Loves, The Closet, Chicago Eagle), would open it to the public April 25, 2026 as cocktail bar The Belmont with the Decibel dance club behind it; City Cast Chicago confirmed Decibel 'opened to the public Saturday' in a post dated April 28.
May 2026
4 documented openings4654 W Vernor Hwy, Southwest Detroit, in the former Mutiny Tiki Bar. The bar's own site describes it as 'Southwest Detroit's neighborhood gay cocktail bar' and publishes an opening date of May 8, 2026; Metro Times reported in April that the Detroit Optimist Society (Dave Kwiatkowski) and bartender Luka Backus expected to open it by early May.
2012 Magnolia Ave, Five Points South. Owner Kyle Richardson, who runs Tuscaloosa's only gay bar, opened it after Our Place and The Quest Club closed: 'Losing The Quest and Our Place created a big void in Birmingham's gay community.' Grand opening Friday May 8, 2026.
- Amy's Place·Champaign·gay bar·opened May 9
120 N First St, Champaign, Illinois. Lesbian-owned by Amy Beth Myers; soft-opened April 12 and held its grand opening May 9, 2026 with drag performances through the night.
468 25th St, Oakland, in the former Friends and Family space (the James Beard-semifinalist queer bar that closed in late 2025). Opened May 29, 2026 by Alli Li, a former Friends and Family chef, with lower prices and more capacity than its predecessor (San Francisco Chronicle).
June 2026
2 documented openingsRelocation, not a new bar: Houston's only lesbian bar moved a mile down Washington Ave, from 4216 to 2811 (the former Hughes Hangar), with a grand-opening party June 5, 2026 for Houston Pride. Chron's headline: 'Texas may now have the world's largest lesbian bar.'
Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood. FOX 11 reported it open on June 15, 2026 as a lesbian-owned nightclub and 'one of the few dedicated lesbian spaces in the area'; owner Berni Gambino, a retired LA County Sheriff's sergeant, held the soft opening June 5, the first day of WeHo Pride weekend, with a grand opening on July 11 (WEHOonline).
July 2026
3 documented openings5001 Central NE. Married co-owners Lucas Romero and Luke Rogers grew it out of their Friends of Dorothy LGBTQ+ meetup; the Albuquerque Journal reported the grand opening for the Friday and Saturday after July 16, 2026. KOB, which headlined it a new gay bar in Nob Hill, quoted the owners that the city had only two gay bars and one gay club.
1125 SW Harvey Milk St, the former Scandals space. KOIN reported the grand opening set for Saturday July 11, 2026; GayCities reported in August that it had opened in time for Portland Pride in mid-July. Co-owner Logan Whalen, of Best Coast Barber across the street, told KPTV: 'It's that everybody place.'
428 S Hewitt St, Arts District, in the former Resident DTLA music venue. Second location of the Brooklyn bar ANIMAL (opened March 2024); soft-opened July 25, 2026 with no cover. Partner Ashton Correa: 'It was exciting to open a bar in a place that doesn't have gay bars and to be a little beacon of queerness.' (Los Angeles Blade)
August 2026
none documentedSeptember 2026
1 documented opening741 W Church St, Parramore, the former Heatwave and Stonewall Bar space. Owners Jay Ruiz and general manager Melissa Vitale billed it as Orlando's first and only sapphic lounge and restaurant, with the grand opening announced for September 4, 2026 (Watermark); the venue's Instagram now reads 'NOW OPEN'. Hoodline: Orlando had lacked a dedicated lesbian-centered nightlife venue since Faces closed in 2007.
October 2026
none documented
These are documented openings surfaced in our audits and press sweeps, not a census: a month marked “none documented” means we found no sourced opening, not that none happened. We never present openings minus closures as a net figure — the two lists are gathered differently and are not comparable.
Download the openings log (CSV) · also included in the JSON download below.
This is a list of openings and closings we could document with a source, not a census. If a gay, lesbian or queer bar opened or closed in 2026 and it isn’t here, email info@outxout.com with the bar’s name, city and a link (a news story or the bar’s own announcement) and we’ll add it with credit.
Documented closures.
Closures, rebrands and relocations we have a source for, 2019 through October 2026. Lesbian bars are tracked separately on the State of the Lesbian Bar.
| Status | Source | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legends Nightclub Final weekend at 330 W Hargett St, its home since 1991, ended October 18, 2026; the Hargett Street property has long been proposed for redevelopment. Hoodline reported (before the move) that Legends planned to reopen five days later at 316 W Cabarrus St in the Warehouse District with grand-opening events October 23–25. | Raleigh | gay nightclub | Oct 18, 2026 | relocated | Hoodline |
| Las Vegas Eagle 3430 E Tropicana Ave. The bar announced the closing the weekend of September 19–21, 2026; last day of service September 30, ending nearly four decades that began in 1988 as a Levi's and leather bar. No reason was given (Hoodline, citing the Las Vegas Review-Journal). | Las Vegas | gay bar | Sep 30, 2026 | closed | Hoodline |
| Vogue Lounge The Lehigh Valley's last gay nightclub (28 N 10th St, opened 2022 on the site of the former Stonewall Lehigh Valley) held its last day Sunday August 30, 2026 with a 'Pride After Party.' The building's owner has put the property up for sale; manager Nichole Meixell: 'I think it was due to the economy.' | Allentown | gay nightclub | Aug 30, 2026 | closed | WFMZ |
| The Rosemont East Williamsburg dive known for drag shows, DJs and late-night parties announced on September 3, 2026 that it had been closed for the past week and would 'unfortunately likely not' reopen in a permanent physical capacity, after nearly a decade. A closing-night blowout was promised. | Brooklyn | queer bar | Aug 2026 | closed | Time Out New York |
| Aqua Nightclub 711 Duval St drag bar closed Monday July 6, 2026 after the manager told staff 'we have been evicted.' The Aquanettes, its in-house drag troupe, danced a standing-room-only final show July 5 and moved around the corner to the Birdcage Cabaret. | Key West | gay/drag bar | Jul 6, 2026 | closed | Keys Weekly |
| Hamburger Mary's Jacksonville Murray Hill drag bar and restaurant at 947 Edgewood Ave S, opened spring 2025, closed abruptly in July 2026; a judge issued an eviction order July 13 and a handwritten 'permanently closed' sign went up on the door, with the space already listed for lease. | Jacksonville | drag bar / restaurant | Jul 2026 | closed | Jacksonville Today |
| Mag's 940 Marigny corner bar on Elysian Fields Avenue went dark the week of July 16, 2026 with no public statement from its owners; online listings flipped to 'closed' and neighbors were left guessing what comes next (Hoodline). | New Orleans | gay bar | Jul 2026 | closed | Hoodline |
| Club XYZ One of Knoxville's last two gay bars announced on June 22, 2026 that it would close after 22 years, calling it a 'complete surprise': it could not absorb a rent increase and said the landlord issued an eviction with 'less than one week's notice.' Final dance that Saturday, June 27. | Knoxville | gay bar | Jun 2026 | closed | The Advocate |
| Back 2 Earth Northeast Portland queer bar in the former Local Lounge space (opened two weeks before Pride 2023) announced its closure on June 28, 2026: 'We are choosing not to renew our lease as we have struggled to keep this space successful and specifically queer.' | Portland | queer bar | Jun 2026 | closed | GayCities |
| Renegades Leather-and-Levi's landmark closed for good in May 2026 after owner Luis Sarmiento died on March 4 (the bar had first closed temporarily). A staff fundraiser raised nearly $16,000. Hoodline counts two gay bars left in San Jose. | San Jose | gay bar | May 2026 | closed | Hoodline |
| Bailey's Place Rutland, Vermont's first gay bar in decades, on Evelyn Street, closed in April 2026 after less than a year. Owner Faith Ann McClure had billed it as a gathering space for the LGBTQ+ community and allies. | Rutland | gay bar | Apr 2026 | closed | WCAX |
| Heatwave Queer cafe-meets-nightspot (Orlando Weekly's description) that opened in August 2025 in the former Stonewall Bar space at 741 W Church St, Parramore; closed Sunday March 8, 2026 after about half a year with a 'grand closing' weekend. The space reopened as Sapphire Lounge in September 2026. | Orlando | queer bar | Mar 8, 2026 | closed | Orlando Weekly |
| Club Lambda Queer nightclub at 1031 Grand St owned by Charles Hughes and Richard Solomon, who also run Lambda Lounge in Harlem (which stays open). Announced it would close for good at the end of February 2026; final party February 28. | Brooklyn | gay nightclub | Feb 28, 2026 | closed | Gay City News |
| Macri Park Williamsburg bar known as 'Brooklyn's living room' (a gay bar since Steven McEnrue took it over in 2015) announced on Instagram on January 13, 2026 that it was closing; staff and performers were given no reason, and a benefit at Happyfun Hideaway raised money for workers. | Brooklyn | gay bar | Jan 13, 2026 | closed | Gay City News |
| Bachelor Forum Rochester's oldest LGBTQ+ bar, on University Avenue, closed after January 1, 2026 for a rebrand with a tentative reopening two to three months later. The news came weeks after The Avenue Pub, another Rochester LGBTQ+ tavern, closed after 50 years. | Rochester | gay bar | Jan 1, 2026 | rebranded | WHEC (News10NBC) |
| The Hole (now Bar 1924) Point Loma bar regarded as San Diego's oldest continuously operating gay bar (a fixture since 1961) dropped its name of 60-plus years in January 2026 to become Bar 1924, after the year it first opened as The 19th Hole. Owners say patrons 'remain as diverse as ever'; SanDiegoVille notes the rebrand 'raised quiet but pointed questions' in the LGBTQ community. | San Diego | gay bar | Jan 2026 | rebranded | SanDiegoVille |
| Bossy Grrl's Pin Up Joint 2598 N High St burlesque bar; final day December 13, 2025 — the owners said the bar did not make enough money (Columbus Underground). The space reopened in April 2026 as Proof by The Alibi, a speakeasy-style cocktail bar (Columbus Navigator). | Columbus | queer-friendly bar | Dec 13, 2025 | closed | Columbus Underground |
| Ginger's 86 Hardie Pl — the San Francisco Standard called it downtown's only LGBTQ+ space (often miscategorized as a lesbian bar). Final service Oct 30, 2025; went on indefinite hiatus citing monthly losses. Not counted in lesbian-bar figures. | San Francisco | cocktail bar (mixed LGBTQ+) | Oct 30, 2025 | closed | The San Francisco Standard |
| Salty Nun Downtown St. Petersburg gay bar and restaurant opened in 2022 by Barbara Banno and J.P. Brewer; last day Sunday August 17, 2025. Creative Loafing called it St. Pete's 'unofficial lesbian bar' for its programming — not a dedicated lesbian bar. | St. Petersburg | gay bar | Aug 2025 | closed | Creative Loafing Tampa |
| Ruby Deluxe Final night was the Saturday May 3, 2025 Glitter Hour, after 10 years. Owner Tim Lemuel had described it as one of the only places in Raleigh 'dedicated to the queer community as opposed to gay men.' | Raleigh | queer bar | May 3, 2025 | closed | Qnotes Carolinas |
| Misfits Bar + Lounge LGBTQ+ bar at Northeast 82nd Avenue and Russell Street; closure announced May 2025 — a last-minute fundraiser bought time, but not enough (Willamette Week). One of several Portland LGBTQ+ bar closures in 2024–25. | Portland | gay bar | May 2025 | closed | Willamette Week |
| This Is It! Wisconsin's oldest gay bar (418 E Wells St, founded 1968) announced its permanent closure the weekend of March 8–9, 2025 after 57 years; owners cited the COVID aftermath and 2024 street reconstruction outside the bar. | Milwaukee | gay bar | Mar 2025 | closed | Urban Milwaukee |
| Napoleon's Itch 734 Bourbon St. Owner-operator Ron Julian announced permanent closure less than 12 hours after the January 1, 2025 Bourbon Street terror attack, after 23 years; it never reopened. | New Orleans | gay bar | Jan 2025 | closed | Out |
| The Birdcage Closed permanently on Christmas Eve 2024 with no notice after six years; it opened at 927 Race St and moved to 412 Central Ave in June 2023, keeping the Race St room as 'The Flock.' Performers told WXIX only two gay bars were left downtown. A new LGBTQ+ bar, The Corner, was announced for the Race St space in October 2026. | Cincinnati | gay nightclub | Dec 24, 2024 | closed | Metro Weekly |
| Level Up Bar Gayborhood bar at 13th and Walnut (POC-owned, opened a week before the COVID lockdown). The Inquirer reported in November 2024 that its last day would be in December; owners sought a new location. | Philadelphia | gay bar | Dec 2024 | closed | The Philadelphia Inquirer |
| Progress Bar 2440 Wilton Dr, Wilton Manors (opened 2014). Yelp lists it permanently closed; closure corroborated by the space now operating as LIT Wilton. Date approximate. | Wilton Manors | gay bar | Oct 2024 | closed | Yelp (listing) |
| Hamburger Mary's Milwaukee 730 S 5th St (Walker's Point) closed after service July 28, 2024. Owners said they planned to reopen in a new location but were still unsure where (Urban Milwaukee). | Milwaukee | drag bar / restaurant | Jul 28, 2024 | closed | Urban Milwaukee |
| Hamburger Mary's Orlando 110 W Church St (downtown) closed June 2, 2024 after 16 years; owners said they were looking to relocate, with a new location yet to be announced at the time (Orlando Weekly). It later reopened outside downtown, so it is no longer a walkable downtown venue. | Orlando | drag bar / restaurant | Jun 2, 2024 | relocated | Orlando Weekly |
| Charlie's Las Vegas Country/western gay bar (former 5012 S Arville) that closed its location in January 2024 for a planned relocation. As of October 2026 no reopening or new address has been announced, directories still list it closed and its former website is offline — no citable news report; do not pitch without one. | Las Vegas | gay bar | Jan 2024 | closed | Source pending |
| Berlin Lakeview nightclub at 954 W Belmont; final night Nov 19, 2023 after 40 years. The space reopened April 25, 2026 under new ownership (HV Entertainment) as a dual concept, The Belmont + Decibel. | Chicago | gay nightclub | Nov 2023 | rebranded | Block Club Chicago |
| Stonewall Bar 741 W Church St, Parramore. The space later became Heatwave (opened Aug 2025), which closed March 8, 2026; Sapphire Lounge, a sapphic lounge and restaurant, opened there in September 2026. | Orlando | gay bar | Dec 31, 2021 | closed | Orlando Weekly |
| The 700 Club Long-running French Quarter gay bar at 700 Burgundy; last day Dec 15, 2019. The owner relocated to 1012 N Rampart, which became a different bar (American Townhouse), seriously damaged by fire in March 2025. The '700 Club' brand is defunct. | New Orleans | gay bar | Dec 2019 | closed | LGBT Archives Project of Louisiana |
Documented closures surfaced during Out x Out city audits — sourced examples, not a complete count of every closure. Sort by any column; a few older sources are listings rather than press and are flagged in the note.
How to read this.
The closures and openings listed here are documented, individually-sourced EXAMPLES surfaced during Out x Out's city content audits and press sweeps. They are NOT a comprehensive count of every LGBTQ+ bar that has closed or opened. Cities shown are cities where Out x Out documented a closure or opening — not 'the hardest-hit' cities. Where an open-venue count is given, it reflects venues Out x Out tracks as open, not every bar in the city.
- — Not a 'net openings minus closings' census. The two lists have different selection biases and must never be subtracted, compared as a ratio, or drawn as a trend line.
- — Not a per-city total of closures or openings (we report documented examples, not totals).
- — Not a 'live' feed — this is a hand-compiled snapshot (v0.3, October 2026). A live, DB-backed version is planned but does not exist yet.
- — Cities included reflect where Out x Out documented a change, not a ranked list of decline or growth.
A documented record of LGBTQ+ nightlife venue (gay bar, lesbian bar, gay/queer nightclub) closures, rebrands, and relocations across US cities, with per-venue sourcing — plus, from v0.3, a month-by-month log of documented 2026 openings. Compiled from Out x Out's primary-source city content audits (June 2026) and a press sweep through October 26, 2026, with source URLs recovered and dates verified against published reporting.
Per-venue closures and openings are individually sourced; three older closures rest on a listing or feature rather than a news report and say so in their note. Last refreshed October 26, 2026 (v0.3). Looking for lesbian bars specifically? See our State of the Lesbian Bar.
Free to cite.
This data is free to use with attribution to Out x Out. Reporters: for a custom city cut, an updated figure, or an interview, email info@outxout.com.
Out x Out has documented 32 gay bar and nightclub closures, rebrands and relocations across 22 US cities, each with a source — 16 of them in 2026 alone, including the Las Vegas Eagle (since 1988) and Knoxville's Club XYZ (22 years).
Out x Out's month-by-month log records 13 documented US LGBTQ+ bar and nightclub openings and 1 relocation between January and October 2026 across 12 metro areas — none documented in January, February, August or October — from Val's Lesbian Bar in Philadelphia to CAMP in the former Scandals space in Portland.
Documented openings in 2026 are examples surfaced in Out x Out's audits, not a census, and the tracker never reports openings minus closures as a net figure.
Out x Out, "The State of the Gay Bar" (2026), https://outxout.com/data/state-of-the-gay-bar