Across the country, major cities have become more welcoming to LGBTQ+ people, to the point that queer-run businesses and spaces are often celebrated.
That said, many of those businesses, especially lesbian bars, are shuttering.“In the late 1980s, there were an estimated 200 lesbian bars across the country.
Now there are thought to be just 21,” according to the Lesbian Bar Project’s website.Many bars shuttered as a result of business closings during the pandemic.
But for Jody Bouffard, who owns Blush & Blu in Denver, the extinction of queer bars, specifically bars for queer women, goes far deeper.When Bouffard first moved to Denver in 1996, there were at least six lesbian bars thriving in the city that catered to different queer women’s.