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Owner David Cooley says the gay-bar business model worked 10 years ago, but not anymore.ĭavid Cooley: If you would say to me, “David, let’s open up a gay bar.” I wouldn’t be investing.Ĭooley is investing in gay-friendly bars. But on a weekday afternoon, there are as many straight neighborhood families as there are single gay men. Of course, a lot of gay bars aren’t disappearing, they’re just becoming more mixed. And the older generation has graduated from late-night bar hopping to a mellow meal out. Sullivan says today young, gay men and women use the Internet, not bars, to meet people. Robert David Sullivan: It was sort of structured that you could meet people that way, and you could say things and not censor yourself. He says it was strange because they had been such a cornerstone of the gay social scene. McHugh: When I came out it was the early 90s, and it was really helpful to go to these places.īoston Globe writer Robert David Sullivan says a few years ago he noticed the number of gay bars in Boston had been cut in half. McHugh says for gay boomers, bars used to function like community centers. Jerry McHugh: Generation X people and Generation Y people are less concerned about gay-exclusive socialization, and they’re more interested in a more-diverse environment. So why are gay bars having so much trouble? Marketing expert Jerry McHugh says part of it is generational. But here’s the weird thing: Gay business is booming. Gay bars all over the country have met similar fates: New York’s Roxy, The Avalon in Boston, The Pendulum in San Francisco.
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The new owner plans to tear down the Boom Boom Room and build a luxury hotel. They’d have this wonderful cabaret show on Wednesday nights. It had a little, kind of loungey bar, and it had pool tables.
THE ABBEY MIAMI GAY BAR WINDOWS
But today the windows of the white, art-deco facade are papered over.įred Karger: It’s a magical place. It used to be a favorite hangout of Rock Hudson’s. The Boom Boom Room opened in Laguna Beach in 1947.