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faced with challenges and the changing wants
and desires of their clientele.
“Trends change and they always will,”
Smith says.“A person with a strong business
mind will watch those trends and either hop
on the bus or not.”
Smith says that some gay bar owners can
become victims of a “mindset of compla
cency” — succumbing to the idea that
“because we are a gay bar, people will come
to us.” The bad news for some gay bar own
ers is that the old paradigm might be shift
ing as gay trends move from the gay ghetto
into mainstream America.
Dan Mauney, one of the original founders
of Charlotte’s “Takeover Friday’ says more and
more people are “crossing over” from exclu
sively “gay bars” to more popular, mainstream
establishments that label themselves neither
straight nor gay.
“As we strive to gain more mainstream
acceptance and we cross over, we don’t have to
go to A, B or C anymore,” he says. “We can go
to A, B, C, D, E and F, and its definitely because
of the strides our gay advocates have made.”
Takeover, which started more than four
years ago with a small group of friends,
turns out countless gay and lesbian cus
tomers to restaurants, bars and other
nightlife establishments that aren’t neces
sarily known as “gay” places. In fact, many
of the mainstream establishments they visit
have never labeled or marketed themselves
as exclusively or even partly “gay” In fact,
some of them are known for their affluent,
mostly heterosexual crowd.
Some LGBT community members have
said the Takeover events steal away busi
ness from traditionally gay and gay-owned
establishments — that they introduce new
bars and clubs to gay customers who even
tually abandon the tried and true establish
ments of old.
“I usually laugh when people say that,
because ... we support the gay bars as often
as we support an)^ing else,” Mauney says.
“We might have criticism that we are compet
ing with others’ Friday night drmking time,
but usually our crowd ends up at those places
any way^
But what if the criticisms of Takeover have
some merit? Where does the responsibility lie?
Are Takeover organizers to blame, or does it
lie with gay clubs and their owners? Isn’t
responding to changing trends supposed to be
a part of the business? If the clientde keep
missing what they’re looking for in older gay
bars, doesn’t it make legitimate business sense
for them to take their money elsewhere?
Whether we like it or not, that’s kind of the
rule of the game in a capitalist society.
Leland Garrett, a 24-year-old college
student living in Durham, says that his
favorite nighttime hangout, the Pinhook,
isn’t a gay bar, even though it is extremely
gay friendly.
“They sometimes have gay-themed
events, but it is also a low-key place,” he says.
“It isn’t strictly a gay bar and it is a place
where you can talk with your friends and be
able to hear them.”
Garrett says he avoids clubs as much as
possible — much like me, he’s not a club per
son. But he also says he’s always disappointed
in the lack of variety the gay clubs offer. “I hate
the gay clubs in North Carolina; they are all
basically the same — loud techno music,
smoking, drinking and people hooking up in
the bathrooms.”
He says he wishes there was a club that
wasn’t so “stereotypical.”
But Smith isn’t so sure about all the “main-
streaming” some folks say are happening
inside gay nightlife circles. If gay people are
“moving Uptown,” he asks, what about all the
straight people coming out to the gay bars? .
“I’d venture to say that if you walk into
Scorpio, or clubs like Scorpio, it’s not 100 per
cent gay^’
Still, it’s pretty clear, at least to the folks I
talked to, that many “non-gay,” yet gay- ■
friendly establishments —like Petra’s Piano
Bar in Charlotte’s Plaza-Midwood neighbor
hood and the Garden & Gun Club at the N.C.
Music Factory — are becoming popular with
LGBT clientele.
Smith says it he thinks it is important for
the LGBT community to continue to support
the businesses that have supported them.
“There is something to say for those folks
who have lived through the battles of gay bars
even existing and keeping them open, provid
ing a safe haven for people to come,” he says.
“We need to continue to support those busi
nesses before they fade away”
He adds, “There is a need for gay bars. It
is important to be able to ‘come home’ for a
little bit.”
Despite his aversion to Carolinas gay clubs
and bars, Garrett at least admits that having
them available is good for the community."!
think it is good we have a place to go and be
ourselves, whether you are more straight act
ing or a flaming queen. You can go to a gay bar
and not have to deal with the ju^ment and
people staring at you and the crap you get
from people.”
Bambi Weavil, publisher of the
Wilmington, N.C.-based online LGBT publica
tion OutImpact.com, also thinks community
support of “family”-owned businesses is
important.
“It is important to support the gay estab
lishments,” she says. “I tlfink it can be a give
and take both ways [frequenting gay and non
gay dubs and bars], but it is important to sup
port gay establishments or they are definitely
going to go under.”
If gay bar owners want to keep their cash
flow moving in a positive direction, they’ll
have to keep surprising.their customers with
fresh and new ideas.
Takeover’s Mauney says the freshness of
his events and venues means peofJe stay
interested and return to future events. “I think
people come to Takeover because of the differ
ent venues we go to,” he says. “We keep chang
ing it up. One venue might be dressy, another
more casual. We try to venture into new pflaces
that maybe people haven’t been to yet. I think
it keeps it ff^h.”
Mauney adds that welcoming fresh ideas
and staying current with the trends can be
half the battle. “Unfortunately, the ‘build it
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16 MARCH 7.2009 *j(jNotes