The last lesbian bar in Denver, Colorado is closing down: ‘The world has shifted and so have we’
Denver, Colorado’s remaining lesbian bar is closing down. (@blushandbludenver/Instagram)
The last lesbian bar in Denver, Colorado is closing down. The Blush & Blu, Colfax Avenue will have its final day of operation on 5 October. Owner Jody Bouffard said: “The world has shifted, and so have we.”
The remaining lesbian venue in Denver, Colfax Avenue, the longest commercial street in the US, will be open for the last time on 5 October. Bouffard recently took to Instagram to announce the pending closure but did not cite a reason for closing the business.
“When I moved to Denver in 1996, there were over 200 lesbian bars across the country, each a beacon of refuge, though not always safe,” she wrote on the social media platform.
“Many of us entered through the side door, our hearts guarded and steps careful. Now, 28 years later, only 20 remain. The world has shifted and so have we.”
Bouffard concluded: “After nearly three decades serving this beautiful Denver community, it is my decision to close this chapter of my life called Blush & Blu.”
Back in 2021, the venue owner told The Advocate that at least six lesbian bars were booming in Denver when she first moved to the city, including those which were aimed at varying queer women’s subcultures.
Even three years ago in the interview, she told of how her bar had to adapt to various factors. “Working in these bars, the price of rent has gone up in the last 10 years,” she said. “The decline of lesbian bars across the country, even legendary ones like San Francisco’s Lexington Club, have to do with neighbourhoods being bought and sold.”
Of course, the Covid-19 pandemic impacted businesses, including queer spaces. She said at the time: “If we were to have a third shutdown, I wouldn’t make it. During the shutdowns and prior, we never were given aid to small businesses. The city of Denver has been silent.”
However, in the wake of the pandemic, new spaces for sapphics have cropped up across the country. The Lesbian Bar Project found that there are now 34 lesbian bars left in the US, not including the soon-to-be-closed Blush & Blu.
Blush & Blu’s last hurrah will be held on Saturday 5 October. They have invited customers to bask in “the memories, friendships, and love that have filled these walls for years”.
“Let’s make these last days together meaningful and full of the good vibes we’ve always shared,” the bar’s social media post read.
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