"I don't want to do that because I feel that'd be horrible to take someone's money and then anything could happen and not be open, so I was never going to do that,' Miller said. "But it was nice to have people from around the world who visited Palm Springs, come into my bar, enjoy it that much they thought enough to say 'we would be glad to give you money to help.'" Gay bars are struggling nationwideĪccording to the New York Times, gay bars in New York City already face the challenges of high rent and thin profit margins, and the pandemic has meant a loss of revenue due to restrictions and springs closures. West Hollywood's gay bars Rage and Gym Bar permanently closed during the summer.īut gay bars were on the decline before the pandemic. You can go back to work and come back out for happy hour."
"It's given us a little bit of runway to get up to speed on food, but we want to have a place where you can come during the day and have lunch and you don't necessarily have to have a cocktail.
"The pandemic has been a silver lining so to speak, because it's given us an opportunity to tweak the food concepts," Giesecke said. The bar had intended to introduce food service at some point, but the pandemic accelerated those plans. "I'll be able to manage it easier than having little pop-up tents or the screens on the top, because the water is going to get on those people."Īcross the street, Chill Bar Palm Springs - with a nightclub atmosphere, male go-go dancers and various theme nights - has offered outdoor food and beverage service on its patio since August.Ĭreative director and owner Rob Giesecke said he spent $50,000 at the end of July to build the kitchen. Building it was easy because the previous tenant, the Rainbow Bar and Grill, was a restaurant and there was already a grease trap installed. "That will be able to protect and keep the rain off people," Miller said. Temperatures are expected to be in the 60s with a chance of rain, but having a tent will be an advantage. The weather forecast for Saturday and Sunday makes Miller nervous.