The city of Boston lacks LGBTQ+ bars and no space dedicated to queer women, but that is all set to change this summer with the grand opening of Dani’s Queer Bar.
View this post on Instagram
Owners Thais Rocha and Tiamarie Michaels have been fundraising for more than two years in order to open the space and have raised nearly $28,000. The bar is set to open this summer but has not picked an exact date, according to a release sent out Tuesday.
A post to the bar’s Instragram Story reveals the space is going through the inspection process and will set an opening date once approved.
“We are truly almost across the finish line,” the story reads.
The bar has already pulled together an impressive following, highlighting the need for the space. Co-owner Rocha has already begun the process of filling that void by founding LGBTQ+ Nightlife Events, an organization that has been hosting queer events in Boston for the past five years. These events take place in “borrowed spaces”, and Rocha says it’s time to fix that.
“Our community is in desperate need of a new LGBTQ+ venue in Boston,” Rocha writes on the GoFundMe page. “As lifelong Boston residents, we’ve seen our city grow & we want our community to be a part of that growth too.”
The bar received a SPACE grant last July from Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, which assists in supporting “pandemic-affected community enterprises. Last May, the owners signed a lease for a building in BackBay, which was previously occupied by the Pour House, and have been working to renovate the space since.
View this post on Instagram
Rocha says the space will be welcoming to to all queer, trans, nonbinary and sapphic women.
“It’s important to have these spaces because people will be able to look around and see different generations of the community. We hope we can offer that,” she told The Simmons Voice.
Once opened, Dani’s will become the 28th lesbian bar in the United States.
