London’s sapphics are going wild for a new lesbian bar – here’s what you need to know
Everything you need to know about London’s new lesbian bar in Broadway Market, La Camionera (Getty Images)
Queer women have been talking about the possible opening of a new lesbian bar in London for some time now.
Hints circulated on Instagram about La Camionera – Spanish for “female truck driver”, but also slang for butch lesbians – for several weeks, with the owners remaining anonymous.
But the venue finally officially opened on 15 February, with “droves of lesbians and their exes” filling the “full width of the street, including the pavements”, according to Dazed, which photographed opening night.
“In asking [bar-goers] their thoughts on the evening, one statement came up again and again: ‘It’s just so needed… we need more things like this’, and variations on [that] theme,” Dazed reporter Emily Crooked wrote.
So, what’s the future for this new sapphic hotspot?
La Camionera is a new lesbian bar in London’s Broadway Market
La Camionera is situated in the basement of American jazz bar Off Broadway, at 63 Broadway Market, in Hackney in east London.
As for the opening times, those are a little more difficult to pin down, with initial reports saying it would open every two weeks, then Dazed saying that it would now be running from Sundays to Thursdays.
The owners are said to be announcing official opening times and more details soon, via the bar’s Instagram page.
Will the bar become a permanent venue?
In news that will delight queer Londoners, owners Alex and Clara have now announced they plan to open the bar as a permanent venue in Hackney.
The new spot, which organisers say “of course” welcomes trans and non-binary people, is a much-needed addition to London’s lesbian nightlife, with just one similar permanent bar in the capital.
The owners announced they are fundraising for the “full-time bar and café”, and, so far, have more than £2,500 ($3,160).
“We will be the first FLINTA-owned [female, lesbian, intersex, non-binary, trans and agender] LGBT+ space in London for over a decade,” Alex and Clara announced on their fundraising page.
“Something initially intended as a low-key tapas bar for 25 covers that ran Sunday to Thursday had soon turned into hundreds of people hanging out outside, trying to get in,” Alex added.
“As a trans person, I can’t help but feel othered when spaces tack on whether I am or am not welcome. Let’s not let a minutiae of people control the dialogue. We’re stronger without them.”
La Camionera is located in the basement at 63-65 Broadway Market, London E8 4PH.
