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Bars brace for COVID winter
Local business owners working to adapt to cooler weather
For Ed Bailey, co-owner of Number Nine and Trade, one emotion has persisted through the summer months and into the fall: anxiety.
Number Nine and Trade, both queer bars near Logan Circle, were forced to close starting in March when the coronavirus pandemic first hit the city. They reopened several weeks later for takeout and then several weeks after that for limited seating, Bailey said.
“We are operating at such a diminished capacity that we’re toeing the line between being able to support our existence and not,” he said in an interview. “We are just right there.”
For other LGBTQ bars across D.C., the story looks remarkably similar. Outdoor dining has proved to be a lifeline for those restaurants but with winter looming, Bailey and other bar owners are scrambling to find creative solutions to combat the cold.
Bailey said he’s already spent hundreds of dollars on heat lamps to place at each outdoor table at Trade and additional television screens and projectors for their outdoor spaces.
Howard Hicks, general manager of the Green Lantern, said they are looking into buying tents and heating lamps for their improvised patio area. The outdoor seating has been helpful in drawing customers who still aren’t comfortable dining indoors, he said.
But even if they have the heaters and tents, Hicks said he’s concerned that people just won’t come out at all during colder months.
“I’m worried that they’ll be very concerned about being in a place with heat and I’m worried that the number of cases will start going up again once everyone’s not able to go outside,” he said. “We’re concerned about the things that we’re not able to really control, but yet at the same time we are striving to make the space we have as comfortable as we can make it.”
Managers at Green Lantern have already applied for the Streatery Winter Ready Grant program, announced by Mayor Muriel Bowser on Sept. 21. Each grant recipient will receive $6,000 to winterize their patios and outdoor dining areas.
The city has devoted $4 million to the fund and applications will be approved on a rolling basis until the money runs out, according to a statement from the mayor’s office.
“The number one priority for restaurateurs has been the combined safety of their employees and customers,” Kathy Hollinger, president of the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, said in the statement. “They know that everyone’s comfort level is slightly different when it comes to supporting their local restaurants, and this additional relief will help businesses offset costs and extend outdoor service as we work our way through colder months.”
Bailey said he is appreciative of the efforts made by the city to assist small businesses but still accepts that the coming months will not be easy.
“We have every intention of making it through all of this and we’re smart enough to be able to make some intelligent decisions to kind of bolster the spaces for the colder weather,” he said. “I’m trying to honestly be as optimistic as I can but I also feel like I’m being very pragmatic to understand that these are very difficult situations that we’re facing. And it looks like we’re going to be facing them through the whole next year.”
Doug Schantz, owner of Nellie’s Sports Bar on U Street, said they have some seating on the roof deck but have been able to keep most of their clientele inside because of their huge windows, which open to allow ventilation.
Once the weather turns cold, Schantz said the strategy will be to turn the heat up inside as much as they can while still keeping the windows open. He has also applied for the city grant to winterize Nellie’s.
Schantz said he ranks his concern for his business at a five out of 10.
“I know that we’re going to get out of this, I just think it’s gonna be a very rough winter,” he said. “We just have to figure out what our finances are and continue to keep everybody safe. There’s always the looming threat, no matter what you do every day, no matter what all the challenges are. This is also a pandemic that’s very serious and you’ve got to keep your employees and your customers safe.”
For Dave Perruzza, owner of Pitchers in Adams Morgan, the $6,000 grant from the city isn’t nearly enough to cover his expenses.
“Six thousand dollars is like nothing right now. Compared to the bills we have that have been racking up, $6,000 won’t put a dent in anything,” he said. “But I’ll take whatever assistance I can get. Honestly we’re hurting so I have no shame in asking for the money.”
For winter, Perruzza said they’re going to have to rely on takeout orders and using the bit of indoor space that they can.
“I’m very concerned,” he said of his bar. “We just don’t make enough money to sustain a business right now.”
He has been attempting to convince the city government to allow drag shows once again because he said it could be their lifeline through the winter.
“Gay bars are not gay bars without drag shows. It’s part of our culture,” Perruzza said. “I feel like if we can get that to happen in the bars, we can survive with our inside seating and a little bit even with our outside seating.”
Perruzza said he’s been extremely frustrated that queer bars aren’t allowed to host live events in D.C. because restaurants in surrounding states are.
“In my opinion, it doesn’t make it a level playing field for businesses in D.C.,” he said. “I get why the mayor is doing it, but she’s got to give way on certain things that other cities are doing, because D.C. people are just going to Virginia and Maryland to do this stuff.”
Bowser released a pilot plan on Sept. 25 to reintroduce live entertainment at only six specific venues, which can have no more than 50 people at each event. According to a statement from the mayor, the program is an opportunity to restart live entertainment in a controlled environment where they can learn what protocols work best and then apply it to future guidance.
At Freddie’s Beach Bar in Arlington, drag queens have been taking to the stage for the past three weeks. Owner Freddie Lutz said the drag events have filled up the bar and breathed life back into the space.
“We’re taking all the precautions we can so I’m not too worried about [the safety of the shows],” he said. “And they’ve all been very popular which is really encouraging.”
For bar owners like Bailey, Schantz and Perruzza, there’s a pervading sense of uncertainty and unpredictability. It’s almost impossible to plan around a public health crisis that changes by the day, said Bailey.
“There kind of is no future that you can plan on so you have to just live in the moment and work to get your day together, maybe your week. But beyond that, everything’s changing,” he said.
For the LGBTQ community, Bailey said their bars and clubs serve an entirely different purpose than other restaurants.
“For some people, going to a bar is just going to a bar. But for many LGBTQ people, you’re not able to be who you are at work, or at school, or even at home and so often, LGBTQ businesses are the refuge for people,” he said.
For some bars, like gay club Ziegfeld’s-Secrets, the toll of the virus has closed them for good. As winter approaches with no quick end of the pandemic in sight, Bailey said he has started to worry about the wellbeing of the LGBTQ community in the city.
“The community will always find a way but the bars have always been kind of at the center,” he said. “It’s where we congregate and discuss and celebrate and commiserate. We don’t have a whole lot of other spaces to do that.”
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Summer in D.C. brings sports, Restaurant Week, festivals, and more
Summer in D.C. just hits different. Congress is out, school is out, the sun is out, thighs are out. With the skies clearing from Canadian smoke, here are a few ways to stay entertained.
Dining
Summer restaurant week: The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) is once again hosting Summer Restaurant Week, Aug. 18-24. This weeklong dining experience showcases the dynamic dining scene of the DMV, including 2026 RAMMY Award-winning favorites (the annual D.C. food awards show that took place June 29). Participating restaurants will offer three-course brunch and lunch selections for $25 or $35 per person, and three-course dinners for $40, $55 and $65 per person.
New Restaurants: A handful of new spots have opened, so the summer is a great time to check them out:
- Oribu: A new Mediterranean-Japanese restaurant in the Grand Hyatt hotel, which just underwent a remodeling effort. The sleek restaurant brings upscale charm, with dishes like Wagyu beef tartare with potato pavé and caviar.
- The Oak Room: A snazzy old-school American grill has just opened in Georgetown, alongside its sister upstairs supper club (Bernadette’s) restaurant, in the old El Centro space.
- Uchi: This showy Japanese sushi-forward chain has landed in Dupont with a chef’s tasting menu of favorites like fatty tuna.
- Kathmandu: Recalling the capital of Nepal, this warm, buzzy subterranean restaurant right in the heart of U Street brings spice, flair, and rare ingredients to its dishes (see: buffalo burgers) and drinks.
Sports
- Washington Spirit Pride Night OUT: On Sunday, Aug. 23, head to Audi Field for a massive, high-energy game following the exciting month of World Cup. The designated Pride Night OUT game promises boisterous crowds plus pre- and post-game community engagements.
- Washington Tennis Open – Now called the Mubadala DC Open, this annual tournament is only combined mens’ and womens’ 500-level tennis tournament in the world. The open is one of D.C.’s longest-standing sports traditions, and will take place at the Rock Creek Park Tennis Center July 25-Aug. 2. Naomi Osaka, Venus Williams, Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe, and others are expected to play.
Festivals
- Afro Plus Fest: This huge, three-day Afro-Caribbean Hip-Hop Festival brings together headliners Davido, Alkaline, and Wizkid, plus Tems and Ayra Starr. The event moves from RFK to the Northwest Stadium Complex for three days, Sept. 4-6.
- Capital Fringe Festival: Running from July 11-21, this massive celebration features dozens of live theater, comedy, dance, and boundary-pushing nighttime performances across multiple DC neighborhoods.
- The National Book Festival returns, with headliners like Cynthia Erivo, and Martin Scorsese. The one-day festival, Saturday, Aug. 22, brings together bookworms and word nerds under the theme “America 250: It’s Your Story.” There are talks, workshops, musical sessions and more.
- All Things Go: A three-day festival Sept. 25-27 at Merriweather Post Pavilion featuring Mitski, Hayley Williams, Brandi Carlile, MUNA, Zara Larsson, Ethel Cain, and many, many more artists. There are single-day and three-day tickets. Featuring and highlighting female artists, the festival has turned into a must-see for many LGBTQ audience members.
- Fuchsia Fest: The inaugural Fuchsia Fest is a new multi-day celebration created to celebrate LGBTQ community and expression, bringing together a mix of community gatherings, entertainment, and nightlife. The event takes place Sept. 18-20 and is hosted by Capital Pride.
Art and Music
- United We Dance: A high-energy rave with house, techno, bass, and festival music, on Aug. 1 at the 9:30 Club.
- The Fray. On Aug. 14, this American rock band famous for How To Save A Life is at Merriweather Post Pavilion.
- Kesha: Kesha’s high-energy The Freedom Tour comes to the D.C. area on Aug. 14 at Jiffy Lube Live.
- ALOK: On Sept. 3 at Lincoln Theater, ALOK (they/them) performs. The poet, comedian, and actor is putting on a new comedy show.
- 2charm, the emerging Australian electronic club-pop duo popular with the queer community, which blends hyperpop and dance music, comes to the Atlantis.
- Sapphic Dance Party: a vibrant, inclusive nightlife and social event designed specifically for queer women, lesbians, bisexuals, trans individuals, and nonbinary folks, at Atlantis on Aug. 21.
- Jazz in the Garden: The most quintessential of D.C. activities returns Friday evenings through Aug. 14. This season’s theme, “American Sounds,” is a nod to the nation’s 250th anniversary. Tunes themes range from Appalachian and Americana to Creole jazz, Hill Country blues, contemporary jazz, and more. Tickets are available through a lottery system a week before each event.
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Tickets on sale for chef Patrick O’Connell’s book launch event
Sept. 18 kickoff to feature José Andrés, Tom Sietsema
Acclaimed chef Patrick O’Connell is preparing to publish his new memoir, “Main, Middle & Gay” in September and he’s launching the book with an event on Sept. 18 at 6 p.m. at Lisner Auditorium featuring Chef José Andrés and former Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema.
Tickets for the event go on sale Tuesday, July 21 at Ticketmaster; prices start at $55.
O’Connell, who’s gay, is the pioneering Michelin-starred chef and longtime proprietor of the Inn at Little Washington. He spoke with the Blade about the September event and the launch of his first memoir.
“I’ve known [Andrés and Sietsema] for more than 25 years and I have great respect for them,” O’Connell said. “I felt that it would allow us to add a different dimension rather than just have an interviewer. The chemistry will be fun and lively and unpredictable and exciting. I think we’re all different personalities and we’ll compliment each other.”
O’Connell has published cookbooks but this is his first memoir. The event will feature a short film that will highlight his work and the Inn.
“What I hope to do with the event is bring the book to life visually,” he said. “So we’re producing a short film that will be part of it. Most of the audience will not have read the book so it’ll give them a visual flavor of the book. It parallels the evolution of American cuisine over 50 years. It’s a rare perspective to be in the trenches for that long.”
The book’s title refers to the location of the garage on the corner of Main, Middle, and Gay streets in Washington, Va., where he launched his restaurant that became an international culinary destination.
The Blade will publish the rest of its wide-ranging interview with O’Connell in September in conjunction with the book’s release.
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The queer Asian comics building collective joy in D.C.
Spotlighting chaotic ways family, romance, identity take shape in their lives
Kevin Chen’s family tombstone has room for four: him, his parents and his boyfriend. The arrangement might prove to be a little awkward.
“My boyfriend is 100% white, and my parents are 100% disappointed,” Chen confessed.
Jokes about family traditions and the untraditional ways they’re practiced earned a burst of laughs at the bar where Chen was opening for the Pride Comedy Special. The D.C. stand-up event, produced by Comedy Bonfyre last month, spotlighted queer Asian comics who shared the chaotic ways family, romance and identity take shape in their lives.
From candid oral sex takes to top surgery hypotheticals like “Where do the boobs go?”, the night highlighted the loud camaraderie of the queer Asian experience — one that sounds like a cacophony of snorts, cackles and belly laughs. While the comics say they are not quite a community, there’s more than enough shared material to bring them together.
“It was such a magical experience. I loved performing in a queer API lineup. It feels so validating,” Chen said after the show. “I’m wondering, ‘Is this how white men feel all the time?’”
Each performance evoked queer Asian joy through a medium that could use more of its presence.
According to Chen, who is based in D.C., it’s hard to say whether there is a true queer Asian comedy presence in his city. There are only a scattered “handful” of Asian comics, and people of color are underrepresented in queer comic circles, he said.
When Tarunika Anand, a nonbinary lesbian comic, first entered the mainstream D.C. comedy scene, they mostly encountered straight white men, describing the experience as “a culture shock.”
“I feel like sometimes a lot of queer spaces are really white, and then a lot of Asian spaces are really straight,” Anand said. “I don’t feel like I fit into either.”
But feeling marginalized didn’t stop these comics from honing their craft and creating spaces for others like them. Alex Kim, who headlined the special and is based in Brooklyn, runs the queer Asian comedy group Boba Gays, which began on WhatsApp and has since made its way to Lincoln Center.
Every Wednesday, Anand co-produces a free comedy show called Funny Side Up. The queer-led group focuses on inclusivity and showcasing new talent.
“It’s really beautiful to speak about your experience and your existence in a way that’s uplifting,” Anand said.
Family is a major throughline of their comedic repertoires.
Chen, for instance, shared that he identifies with jokes about having Asian immigrant parents and the expectations they pass down.
“You see me, you know this part about me, you know this experience intimately, and I can see the truth that you’re trying to wrap a joke around,” he said. “That hits even harder because that’s my truth too. I think that’s what makes good comedy.”
Anand had the audience at the special howling when they explained that their parents’ be-more-like-them comparisons didn’t end when they came out. Instead, the expectations took on a new form.
“Now, my parents want me to be the best gay,” Anand said. “They’re like, ‘Do you know Ellen DeGeneres?’”
Kim said he’s been trying to unlearn things from his Christian Korean mom. Yet he described a moment when he was getting ready for the club and realized he looked just like his mother getting ready for church.
“I’ve been finding it hard to escape her,” Kim said.
Mutual recognition also radiates through the different ways queer love can take shape. From singlehood to death-do-us-part commitments, the comics cover just about every corner.
Anand is holding out hope for settling down with “a nice, pretty, Indian girl.” They recently went through a breakup and said they felt they dodged a bullet.
“As a person of color, I just don’t think I should be with a Swiftie,” they said.
Chen, touching on what it’s like to be in a queer interracial relationship, said that meeting his white boyfriend’s baby nephew for the first time felt like he was forced to participate in a diversity, equity and inclusion training.
“The dad was like, ‘Please welcome Kevin. Be curious about his culture, his history, his foods,’” Chen joked.
Laughter is not the only reward for the comics.
To Anand, comedy is a space where they can say whatever they want. “It gives me a voice,” they said.
Nik Narain, a North Carolina-based trans and nonbinary South Asian comic who performed at the special, said meeting older trans comedians and taking the stage helped him feel reassured in his identity during his transition.
“Stand-up was a really cool way to process that onstage,” he said. “[It] became a way for me to repackage my thoughts.”
Queer Asians are still figuring out their place in the greater D.C. comedy scene. The group is small in numbers and many are still working toward a full-time comedy career. But Narain feels he’s already made it.
Narain is reluctant to pin it all on one moment. He feels that success is already peeking through in milestones — opening for celebrities, traveling to performances and self-producing shows.
“As long as I can keep doing this, I’m super happy,” he said.
This story was produced as part of the AAJA VOICES fellowship program, a student journalism project of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA).
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