District of Columbia
Buttigieg attends opening of As You Are bar
Soft opening of Capitol Hill LGBTQ space while owners await final city approvals
Gay U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and his husband were among several dozen people who turned out on Tuesday for the surprise opening of As You Are, the Capitol Hill LGBTQ bar and café that faced initial delays in obtaining city permits to open at 500 8th St., S.E.
Lesbian activists and businesswomen Jo McDaniel and Rachel Pike, the owners of As You Are, said they decided to delay their planned expansion of a second-floor bathroom, which is needed under city regulations to allow them to have an occupancy capacity of 180 people. Instead, by opening now prior to the completion of the bathroom expansion, they can open with an occupancy capacity of 149.
Earlier this year, McDaniel and Pike told LGBTQ community supporters as well as supportive neighbors that the bathroom renovation was being delayed by what they thought was bureaucratic red tape by the city’s Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, which must approve permits for various aspects of bars, restaurants, and other small businesses.
According to McDaniel, earlier this month a DCRA official told them that design plans for the expanded bathroom that an architect they hired had already prepared would have to be redone by an engineer, which McDaniel said would cost at least $2,000 or more for the hiring of the engineer. That prompted her and Pike to decide to temporarily postpone the bathroom expansion to give them time to generate revenue by opening the bar and café now, McDaniel said.
The two said that without the expanded bathroom they will have to hold off on their plans for a second-floor dance bar with a DJ and live entertainment such as drag shows. They said they expect to complete the bathroom expansion sometime later this year that will enable them to offer dancing and entertainment.
The two women told the Washington Blade concerns over obtaining permits were put aside on Tuesday, March 22, when supporters and others came in on opening day to order a drink or a lunch or dinner from the menu in As You Are’s first floor café.
“It really filled up here last night,” McDaniel said during a Blade visit on Wednesday afternoon. “It was wonderful. It was like a salon of people who sat together and chatted, and many stayed the whole night.”
McDaniel said she and Pike decided not to have an official grand opening ceremony and instead decided to have a less formal soft opening to give their staff a chance to adjust to the operation of the bar, kitchen, and other aspects of the place. She said they put out the word of the opening on social media.
“And it was really just sort of a word of mouth,” said McDaniel, who added that she, Pike, and many of the customers were delighted when Pete Buttigieg and his husband Chasten Buttigieg showed up.
“They wanted to show their support,” she said. “They live in the neighborhood. And he took a lot of pictures with people, which was nice,” McDaniel said in referring to Pete Buttigieg.
McDaniel and Pike, who are business and life partners, have said As You Are will welcome people of all ages, genders, sexual orientations, and gender identities as well as drinkers and non-drinkers as customers. The two have called As You Are an inclusive space that “welcomes anyone of any walk of life that will support, love, and celebrate the mission of queer culture.”
Under an agreement reached with the Advisory Neighborhood Commission that has jurisdiction over As You Are’s location, the establishment will be open Tuesdays through Thursdays from noon to midnight and on Fridays and Saturdays from Noon to 3 a.m. McDaniel and Pike said they decided the bar and café will be closed on Mondays.
District of Columbia
Capital Stonewall Democrats set to celebrate 50th anniversary
Mayor Bowser expected to attend March 20 event
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, members of the D.C. Council, and local and national Democratic Party officials are expected to join more than 150 LGBTQ advocates and supporters on March 20 for the 50th anniversary celebration of the city’s Capital Stonewall Democrats.
A statement released by the organization says the event is scheduled to be held at the Pepco Edison Place Gallery building at 702 8th St., N.W. in D.C.
“The evening will honor the people who built Capital Stonewall Democrats across five decades – activists who fought for rights when the odds were against them, public servants who opened doors and refused to let them close, and a new generation of leaders ready to carry the work forward,” the statement says.
Founded in 1976 as the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, the organization’s members voted in 2021 to change its name to the Capital Stonewall Democrats.
Among those planning to attend the anniversary event is longtime D.C. gay Democratic activist Paul Kuntzler, 84, who is one of the two co-founders of the then-Gertrude Stein Democratic Club. Kuntzler told the Washington Blade that he and co-founder Richard Maulsby were joined by about a dozen others in the living room of his Southwest D.C. home at the group’s founding meeting in January 1976.
He said that among the reasons for forming a local LGBTQ Democratic group at the time was to arrange for a then “gay” presence at the 1976 Democratic National Convention, at which Jimmy Carter won the Democratic nomination for U.S. president and later won election as president.
Maulsby, who served as the Stein Club president for its first three years and who now lives in Sarasota, Fla., said he would not be attending the March 20 anniversary event, but he fully supports the organization’s continuing work as an LGBTQ organization associated with the Democratic Party.
Steven McCarty, Capital Stonewall Democrats’ current president, said in the statement that the anniversary celebration will highlight the organization’s work since the time of its founding.
“Capital Stonewall Democrats has been fighting for LGBTQ+ political power in this city for 50 years, electing people, training organizers, holding this community together through some really hard moments,” he said. “And right now, with everything going on, that work has never mattered more. This gala is the first moment of our next chapter, and I want the community to be a part of it.”
The statement says among the special guests attending the event will be Democratic National Committee Vice Chair Malcolm Kenyatta, who became the first openly gay LGBTQ person of color to win election to the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 2018.
Other guests of honor, according to the statement, include Mayor Bowser; D.C. Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5, the Council’s only gay member; D.C. Council member Anita Bonds (D-At-Large); Earl Fowlkes, founder of the International Federation of Black Prides; Vita Rangel, a transgender woman who serves as Deputy Director of the D.C. Mayor’s Office of Talent and Appointments; Heidi Ellis, director of the D.C. LGBTQ Budget Coalition; Rayceen Pendarvis, longtime D.C. LGBTQ civic activist; and Phillip Pannell, longtime D.C. LGBTQ Democratic activist and Ward 8 civic activist.
Information about ticket availability for the Capital Stonewall Democrats anniversary gala can be accessed here: capitalstonewalldemocrats.com/50th
District of Columbia
Owner of D.C. gay bar Green Lantern John Colameco dies at 79
Beloved businessman preferred to stay ‘behind the scenes’
John Colameco, owner of the popular D.C. gay bar Green Lantern, has died, according to a March 7 announcement posted on the bar’s website and Instagram account. The announcement didn’t provide a date of his passing or a cause of death.
Green Lantern manager Howard Hicks said Colameco was 79 at the time of his passing.
“It is with great sadness that Green Lantern announces the death of our beloved owner, John Colameco,” the announcement says. “Most of our patrons might have heard John’s name, but might not have known his face,” it says.
“He was a ‘behind-the-scenes’ kind of guy who avoided the limelight,” the announcement continues. “He preferred to stay in the back of the house with staff and team ensuring everything was running smoothly so that everyone out front was having a good time.”
The announcement adds, “As a veteran and businessman, John wasn’t a member of the LGBTQ + community, but he was one of the best damn allies our community has ever had.”
It says he “long provided spaces for the queer community to come together” since the 1990s when he owned and operated a popular restaurant on 17th Street, N.W. called Peppers.
According to the announcement, Colameco and his then business partner Greg Zehnacker opened the Green Lantern in 2001 in an alley off of 14th Street, N.W., between Thomas Circle and L Street, N.W.
The announcement points out that the Green Lantern first opened in the same location in the early 1990s before it later closed when the original owners decided to purchase and open other bars, one of which was the gay bar Fireplace near Dupont Circle. Colameco and Zehnacker were able to reopen the bar with the Green Lantern name.
“When Greg died unexpectedly in February 2014, John remained steadfastly committed to carrying on their vision and ensuring that Green Lantern remained part of the fabric of D.C.’s queer community,” the announcement says.
“Over the years, through Green Lantern, John has provided support to many community organizations, most notably Stonewall Sports, the Gay Men’s chorus of Washington, and ONYX Mid-Atlantic with Green Lantern serving as a gathering hub for their activities,” it states.
The announcement adds that Colameco’s family was planning a memorial for him in his hometown of Philadelphia.
“His Green Lantern family will celebrate his life by operating the bar as usual and we encourage you to stop by and join us,” it says. “Community coming together and having a good time – it’s exactly what John would want.”
District of Columbia
D.C. Black Pride theme, performers announced at ‘Speakeasy’
Durand Bernarr to headline 2026 programming
The Center for Black Equity held its 2026 DC Black Pride Theme Reveal event at Union Stage on Monday. The evening, a “Speakeasy Happy Hour,” was hosted by Anthony Oakes and featured performances by Lolita Leopard and Keith Angelo. The Center for Black Equity organizes DC Black Pride.
Kenya Hutton, Center for Black Equity president and CEO, spoke following the performances by Leopard and Angelo. Hutton announced this year’s theme for DC Black Pride: “New Black Renaissance.”
Performers for 2026 DC Black Pride were announced to be Bang Garcon, Be Steadwell, Jay Columbus, Bennu Byrd, Rue Pratt and Akeem Woods.
Singer-songwriter Durand Bernarr was announced as the headliner for the 2026 festivities. Bernerr gave brief remarks through a video played on the screen at the stage.
DC Black Pride is scheduled for May 22-25. For more information on DC Black Pride, visit dcblackpride.org.
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