With the Little Gay Pub, queer Philadelphians get excited for a new bar to call their own

Philly may be the sixth largest city in the United States but at times it can feel quite small especially in the queer scene Enter The Little Gay Pub a new bar at th and Drury streets in the heart of the Gayborhood The eclectic queer bar opened late last month in time for Pride aiming to broaden and energize the local scene This is The Little Gay Pub s second location The first opened in and is the brainchild of founders Dusty Martinez Benjamin Gander and Dito Sevilla The idea was to create a pub with an old-timey English feel but then turn up the gayness And its success has begot a new space right here in Philadelphia In D C it was a beautiful space which is atypical for a gay bar disclosed Nick Wilson a physician who went to the first location before moving to Philly with his partner It was just without delay very popular And so when we came to Philadelphia I kept being like Oh they need to open a Little Gay Pub here It would be perfect Particular patriotic decor at the Little Gay Pub Julia Binswanger Billy Penn Now Wilson s wish has been granted It s exactly what we need he declared I feel like I personally manifested this bar into existence So yeah you re welcome Walking into The Little Gay Pub it s without delay clear that the space is loud and proud about what it is and who it s for While called little the pub has two floors with multiple rooms and a patio space The first floor is covered head to toe with custom artwork and posters in vintage frames Like a drag queen the decor is bright fun and in your face Large chandeliers hang from the ceilings Images of naked men in compromising positions are displayed without shame or shyness Pop art of queer icons like Lady Gaga and Dolly Parton hang from the walls and there are rulers on the bar leaving much to the imagination about their purpose I would say the whole bar is kind of gaudy intentionally mentioned Alec DeCrosta a store director who came with three friends Each room has a different theme Friends John Baxter Alec Decrosta Jimmy Brazucas and Gabe Agatsiotis grab drinks at the Little Gay Pub Julia Binswanger Billy Penn DeCrosta revealed he and his friends have already become semi-regulars We ve been here a sparse times noted noted Jimmy Brazukas a senior analyst at Comcast with DeCrosta s group We came the night it opened and it was really fun We liked the vibe We thought it was a nice balance between outside and indoor The bathrooms are in one large open space with private stalls and sinks so no need to worry about which door to choose The restroom area itself is its own vibe with forest green tiles and a large picture of Nancy Pelosi on the wall The stall we checked out had bright colorful wallpaper with a repeating pattern of tropical birds Philadelphia is a sanctuary city but everyone we spoke with was excited to have another spot in the city dedicated to queer people I ve lived in Philly for three years now and I feel like the queer society really needed a space like this and it s so welcoming explained Hannah Nash a bartender server and barista And for it to open just in time for Pride is just absolutely amazing Nash was at the pub reconnecting with her high school friend Chade Darby who had just moved back to the city The two were chatting about finding and fostering queer group in Philly The first floor bar at the little gay pub Julia Binswanger Billy Penn When I moved here I heard Oh yeah there are gay bars but a few of them are gentrified Darby revealed noting that queer spaces are often overwhelmed with straight patrons This place definitely feels super authentic to the name and a good conditions to be in and safe as well Darby and Nash weren t the only group to feel this way I think anytime there s a queer space in Philly it s great because it s so small and specific of the more prominent ones no one from Philly s queer group genuinely goes to mentioned DeCrosta I won t call them out he added but there s just other bars that are pretty famous for being queer friendly but they re just not The drink menu features nine different big gay cocktails for each with names like unicorn tears big Ben s banana and the big gay margarita The pool boy and unicorn tears cocktails at the Little Gay Pub Julia Binswanger Billy Penn We tried a limited on the list and can confirm that making the margarita spicy for an extra gives it a good kick and unicorn tears are refreshing and do indeed have glitter in them The bar also means a new safe space for queer Philadelphians to meet new people I like it because it s different from a lot of the other places Brazukas stated Majority of people here I have never seen before Usually you kind of recognize people from the public from a bar but here it s a whole different group which is nice and refreshing It feels more upscale Logan Underwood one of The Little Gay Pub s barbacks was taking time off sitting in a tucked-away booth with friends ordering drinks He stated that the bar has seen a lot of love and traffic during its first month A little gay collage in a tucked-away booth Julia Binswanger Billy Penn I worked during Pride the first day on Saturday during the day It was good It was very very busy he stated Lots of people coming from all over from D C from Philly We ve been getting a lot of people coming through Underwood was sitting next to his partner Andrew Graziani who works as a consultant at an accounting firm I think overall Philadelphia s gay scene is inclusive anyway but it s just we don t have a lot of spaces where that can happen Graziani mentioned The first thing that came to my mind when we came here for Pride was this was a space that was full of every different type of people he disclosed This is a space where everyone feels welcome whether you re gay or straight I think we need more spaces like that The post With the Little Gay Pub queer Philadelphians get excited for a new bar to call their own appeared first on Billy Penn at WHYY