District of Columbia
Chefs for Equality returns with 150 pros serving up their best
‘Restaurants are central to their neighborhoods’
One year after its fabulous post-pandemic re-debut, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation and hospitality veteran, food writer, and lead organizer David Hagedorn are hosting Chefs for Equality on Oct. 21, featuring 150 chefs, bakers, mixologists, sommeliers, and restaurateurs across 50 savory and 20 dessert stations, under the theme “Fully Committed.”
Proceeds from this night of culinary decadence and altruism support HRC Foundation’s fight for LGBTQ equality across the country.
Chefs for Equality, however, is more than an annual event. This year, for certain, it contains weight and meaning, coming days before a consequential election that may decide how inclusive, welcoming, and equity-focused state, local, and national governments will be.
While many industries and companies have pulled back on DEI efforts this year, the restaurant industry has maintained its strong stance on inclusivity. Research from the National Restaurant Association showed that even during difficult financial landscapes, restaurant operators still give back to their communities. According to the 2023 State of the Restaurant report, “84% of restaurant operators said that since 2020, they’ve made charitable contributions to assist those in need.”
This national report proves that the industry is deeply entrenched in the communities they serve and Hagedorn says the industry continues to serve in an inclusive way.
Echoing the survey findings, he says that in D.C., “The industry continues to step up for the LGBTQ+ community even though they have come through the hardest economic challenge they ever faced with the pandemic.”
Hagedorn, who has been part of the organizing committee since the event’s inception, says that the “chef community in D.C. is the most generous in the country. They have been supportive of Chefs for Equality since our first event in 2012.”
Indeed, even prior to Chefs for Equality, in 1990, Hagedorn started the annual Chef’s Best Dinner & Auction, a benefit for Food & Friends to support delivery of meals and nutrition counseling for people living with HIV/AIDS. Even then, he notes, the industry made an effort to support a highly marginalized community. He continued that the “industry in D.C. continues to support the diversity that is represented across our various communities. Looking at the participating businesses this year, there are more women and people of color represented than ever.”
Plus, he says that many restaurants have LGBTQ owners, staff, and family, and, of course, clientele. “We love to eat out and spend a lot of disposable income doing it.”
RaShawn Hawkins, Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s senior director of the Workplace Equality Program, echoed that, “LGBTQ+ people exist in all spaces. We’re managers, chefs, bartenders, and customers. By being fully committed to LGBTQ+ allyship, food and beverage businesses can not only create environments that people are excited and proud to work in, but they get to reap the financial benefits. LGBTQ+ allyship is not only better for people, it’s simply better for business.”
Those employees and leaders have come out in full force. Community members include Patrick O’Connell (Inn at Little Washington, one of the original participants) Jason Berry and Michael Reginbogin (KNEAD Hospitality), Harley Peet (Bas Rouge), Kareem Queeman (Mr. Bake Sweets) and Voula Tripolitsiotis (Blue Lace Cakes), AJ Johnson and JP Sabatier (Jane Jane; and on the planning committee), Joy Crump (FoodE), Ruth Gresser (Pizzeria Paradiso), and Jamie Leeds (Hank’s Oyster Bar), among others. Dozens of allies have participated for multiple years, underlining their personal and professional dedication to the LGBTQ community, including Michelle and Christophe Poteaux, Georgetown Cupcake, Todd Thrasher, Matt Adler, Amy Brandwein, Scott Drewno, Ris Lacoste, Mike Friedman, David Guas, and Jose Andres.
One of the strongest allies, participating chef Masako Morishita (and Beard Foundation Emerging Chef winner) from Perry’s, said that taking part carries special meaning for her. “The restaurant industry has historically been male dominated, even though women are integral to the space. As an immigrant woman myself, I have seen how elements of the industry can be oppressive or exclusive, and I have made it my priority to create an inclusive environment in my kitchen.”
Perry’s, she notes, has long been a champion of LGBTQ rights, and has hosted the longest-running drag brunch in D.C., dating to the 1980s. “As executive chef, I continue to celebrate the community. Working at a restaurant that champions LGBTQ+ culture, particularly drag culture, was important to me. Funnily enough, when I moved to the U.S., I picked up a lot of my English from watching ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race,’ which is still one of my favorite TV shows.”
Participating baker Kareem (“Mr. Bake”) Queeman said, “As a Black gay man who has hidden his sexuality in the food space in the past, this event truly shows the strength and community that we have here in the DMV. Still, he says, there’s more work to do, like “providing training to staff on cultural sensitivity and inclusive practices to create a more understanding and supportive work environment.”
The 2024 version of Chefs for Equality features 13 personal chef tables, providing an opportunity to dine with celebrity chefs for a lavish five-course meal in the middle of the action.
Last year, the event premiered the Speed Diner Drag Brunch, during which five chefs prepare a 20-minute brunch while three of D.C.’s top queens — Shelita Ramen, Tara Hoot and Shi-Queeta Lee — put on a show. Upstairs, VIP ticketholders gain access to an exclusive Upper Tier Apero Champagne and Petrossian and Caviar Lounge; there is also an after-party at the Mayflower Club.
“It’s the largest LGBTQ+-focused event of its kind in D.C., if not the entire country. The chefs always seem to make more of an effort for CFE — the food is truly remarkable,” says Hagedorn. “Restaurants are central to their neighborhoods, and I don’t see their support for our community wavering,” Hagedorn concluded.
Tickets are available at chefsforequality.org.
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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