Why listen
Lesbian bars fell from 200 to 21, and one Brooklyn co-op is part of the fight to bring them back.
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In this episode
- Why queer women's gathering spaces nearly vanished over four decades
- How a worker-owned co-op model can sustain a bar and community space
- What it actually takes to launch a co-op with the help of a mission-driven lender
- How Boyfriend Co-op built an ethical business from ownership structure to furniture
About this episode
Back in the 1980s, there were more than 200 lesbian bars across the United States. By 2022, that number had shrunk to 21. This year, a group of friends in Brooklyn joined a recent resurgence of such queer spaces—and set it up as a worker-owned coop, to boot.Boyfriend Co-op is part cocktail bar, part coffee shop, part workspace. Designed to feel like “a queer living room,” it’s all about ethical, sustainable practices—from its cooperative ownership structure to local ingredients to thrifted furniture. And it’s an example of how coops can be used to solve the problem of disappearing space for queer women.
In today's episode, we hear from Hena Mustafa, one of Boyfriend’s four co-founders, about their journey working with a co-op- focused lender to turn the concept into a fully mapped-out business.
About Next City
Join Lucas Grindley, executive director at Next City, where we believe journalists have the power to amplify solutions and spread workable ideas. Each week Lucas will sit down with trailblazers to discuss urban issues that get overlooked.
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