But, as COVID-19’s threat lessens, several of those shuttered bars have announced plans to reopen in new spaces, and where “before it used to be ‘For Lease’ sign, ‘For Lease’ sign, ‘For Lease’ sign, now you can’t find anything, they’re all taken up,” says Cooley. has been without a lesbian bar in the entire county since Van Nuys’ Oxwood Inn closed in 2017. Flaming Saddles, Gold Coast, Rage and Gym Bar were all victims of the pandemic (plus Studio City’s Oil Can Harry’s), leaving WeHo’s Santa Monica Boulevard strip without some of its signature clubs. When patrons do return to West Hollywood this Pride month, though, it will look quite different from years past.
“People want to burn their mask and hear our DJs and start dancing and looking at our go-go girls and go-go guys. “It’s almost like burn your bra,” he adds of the lifted mask mandates on the horizon. Stephen Colbert Tests Positive for COVID-19, Upcoming 'Late Show' Episode Canceled