June 9, 2009
Herald Declares: Boston's Gay Bar Scene Dead
Robert Nesti READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Readers of the Boston Herald read this past Saturday what most observers of Boston's gay social scene have been talking about for the past few years: the bar scene is on life support.
"Is the gay bar dead in Boston?" reads the lede to .
"That's the question floating around Boston Pride Week, which began yesterday and culminates with the grand parade next Saturday," it continues.
Radsken goes on to interview a BU senior who complains of the lack of venues ("the social scene has 'hit a wall.'") And Frank Ribaud (sic. The correct spelling is Ribaudo), the owner of Club Caf?, who observes "We're not trying to be the new kid on the block. We want to be the stable kid on the block."
Club Caf? continues to be one of the few gay bars thriving this year.
Radsken, a social columnist for the Herald, cites the usual suspects for the decline: social networking cites, gay marriage, the embrace of straight establishments by gay clientele.
None of this is new to readers of LGBT-oriented media (such as this website) that has been reporting on the demise of the gay scene in Boston for years.
Curiously Radsken makes no mention of such movements as the
Or the success of Epic, the weekly gay dance event Saturday nights at the Roxy, which draws a considerable crowd each week.
This week the GQB is holding a special Friday night event in order of Pride, much to the chagrin of gay-owned clubs that feel the business should be aimed at their establishments during Pride.
Robert Nesti can be reached at rnesti@edgemedianetwork.com.
