Part of the Gay Columbus Guide — bars, events & things to do.
Columbus, Ohio
South-side gay dive with a patio, leather-bear regulars, and drag.
The Toolbox Saloon is a gay dive bar on Columbus's south side, on Frebis Avenue — an unpretentious, regulars-heavy room with a main bar and a back patio, and drink prices kept low enough to keep people coming back. It calls itself the best little LGBTQ+ bar on the south side, and the scale fits: this is a neighborhood corner, not a downtown destination. Programming centers on drag shows and karaoke nights with local performers, and in summer the patio earns its keep with cookouts and bingo. It's the kind of place that rewards becoming a regular — quieter and more local than the Short North bars, and all the more loyal for it.
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