Gay bar downtown la
Gay bar Redline says ‘see you later’ after 10 years in business
Downtown LA gay bay Redline is shuttering its doors after nearly 10 years in operation. The cocktail prevent and lounge opened in 2015 as a watering hole for queer and allied Angelenos. It also hosted some of the biggest names in the drag world, including Ongina and Cornbread (of RuPaul’s Drag Race fame).
Owner Oliver Alpuche traces the choice to close Redline support to the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when businesses across LA struggled to stay afloat amid the socioeconomic uncertainty. When he was finally able to open Redline’s doors back up, he expected a second coming of the Roaring ‘20s.
More: DTLA gay bar Redline faces nearly $500,000 in COVID debt
Instead, he says the pandemic hindered, in part, the spirit of the community, and points to smaller crowds who often drank less on any given night. It didn’t help that almost overnight, as Alpuche describes it, the prices of goods skyrocketed.
“It's weird because liquor costs aren't that bad, right? They stayed the same. But if you look at groceries and food and plastic goods, and everything else that it costs to run a bar — juices, pineapple, ice
12 Nov Bar Mattachine – Downtown LA’s First Craft Cocktail Gay Bar
What was once the largest concentration of historic theaters and feature palaces on one avenue in the nation in the 1920s and 1930s, Broadway in downtown Los Angeles had been a street of disrepair for many years. But now The city of Los Angeles is in the process of revitalizing Broadway and new restaurants and retail stores are starting to open. One of the bars that has opened in the area is Bar Mattachine.
Bar Mattachine, part of a small but growing group of downtown gay bars, isn’t just a part of the revitalization of Broadway, but it is also the first gay craft cocktail bar in the area. Bar Mattachine honors and pays tribute to the 1950s Mattachine Society. Created by Harry Hay and a group of Los Angeles male friends, Mattachine Society was one of the earliest gay rights organizations in the Joined States, built to guard and improve the rights of gay men.
Bar Mattachine is a two story lounge owned by Vianey Vee Delgadillo and Jigger Mercado (Bar 107, The Down and Out, The Short-lived Easy) and Garret McKetchnie (formerly head barman at 1886, Cole’s). The cocktail menu includes seven
By Stuie Wood
What happened to all the gay bars? Those heady days of flirting across the dancefloor, stepping in time to Kylie? Dating apps are the new norm and the gays were there first (of course), but many American and European cultural capitals are losing their LGBTQ venues. Such is the concern that London’s Mayor, Sadiq Khan, has set up a task force! Traditionally, the gay scene is an indicator of a buzzing nightlife, good music and style, so this is a loss for all of us. But not in Downtown Los Angeles. Cue music….
Here in DTLA, we’re bucking the trend with four new venues opening in the past two years. Pershing Square, at the very heart of DTLA, hosted its first Pride festival last year and a recent Queer Block Party at the annual Bring Assist Broadway festival, is placing DTLA as the male lover destination point of LA LA Land, stealing the tiara from West Hollywood’s rather tired Queens.
Here’s my list of the 5 most fabulous gay spots in Downtown Los Angeles, all within walking distance of each other. Move to one, go to all five!
Precinct DTLA
357 S Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90013. 5pm – 2am
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When it comes to lgbtq+ nightlife options in Los Angeles, there’s lots to choose from—and not just in rainbow-dipped West Hollywood, home to countless queer bars. To help you pick the best spots for dancing, boozing, flirting and cruising in Hollywood, Silver Lake and beyond, review out this list of our favorite queer bars and clubs in L.A.—there are even Pasadena, Venice and Valley options, for those sick of the party-hearty WeHo scene. Now get out there, tiger.
May 2025: Just in age for WeHo Pride, I’ve updated our guide to the city’s best same-sex attracted bars. This list removes St. Felix, Stache and Redline, all of which have unfortunately closed, as well as the Ruby Fruit (which has recently been revamped to a neighborhood grill) and Revolver Video Bar. The newest addition is Kiso, a welcome entrant to Downtown’s queer nightlife scene.Time Out has also instituted a sitewide change in review policies. All food and drink venues included in guides now have actor ratings, with five stars corresponding to “amazing,” four to “great” and three to “good,” and we’ve also standardized how most listings are struc .