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Justin Leon Johnson catches some rays on Scandals’ patio. So why all the anxiety and hype about the death of the gay bar? Times are changing, it’s true - just not in the ways people fear. But despite the recent losses, Portland still boasts a significant number of gay (if not lesbian) bars, including Boxxes, CC Slaughters, Hobo’s, Crush, Local Lounge, the Eagle, Casey’s, and Joq’s. Meanwhile, some of the city’s most popular dance nights are being held at mainstream venues like Holocene, the Foggy Notion, White Owl Social Club, Mississippi Studios, Jones Bar, Branx/Rotture, and The Know. There’s SHINY Music Hall (an all-inclusive venue run by promoter Samuel Thomas), Vancouver’s Tiger Lily Restaurant and Bar (started by NW Gender Alliance President Jackie Stone), and, more recently, Temporary Lesbian Bar, an occasional women-focused space at Mississippi Pizza Pub dreamed up by Katy Davidson (read more here). The Egyptian Club/E-Room/Weird Bar and Vancouver’s North Bank in 2011, Red Cap Garage in 2012, and Hamburger Mary’s in 2013.īut for every bar lost, something new has emerged. Four Portland-area LGBTQ bars have gone out of business in the last two years. Some blame assimilation, others, diversification. The gay bar is dead, dying, going the way of the dodo. Photo by Izzy Ventura, PQ Monthly.Ĭhances are, you’ve heard the rumor.