I think it's racist bullshit, although The Drinkery didn't seem to help itself as much as it should have.
The Drinkery has been on Read Street in Baltimore -- in the "gayborhood" part of the city, near the just-departed The Hippo (the owner retired and sold to a CVS last year) and Grand Central -- since 1972.
I loved The Drinkery. I haven't been back very much in the last couple of years, but, when I was first navigating the LBGTQ bars in the city, it was easily the one that felt most welcoming. Old-fashioned and friendly -- an online review compared it to the TV show Cheers, which I agree with, with its rectangular bar and community vibe -- its drinks were cheap and strong, while the karaoke in the back room was as amusing as it was diverse.
I have such memories from The Drinkery. My roommate and I went there the Thursday night in June of 2013 that I put my dog of 14 years asleep, and it was the perfect place to shed some tears and laugh. I've met friends there, never having to worry about looking stylish; I've spent birthdays there, or just went in there solo to enjoy a drink in its friendly confines.
The Drinkery is admittedly a hole in the wall, but with all the character that that term conveys.
To hear some of the testimony about unruliness of the crowds was confusing, since it was never what I witnessed in my time going there, until I read between the lines: there is no substantiation of the allegations. Never has there been an arrest on the premises. There have been three 311 complaints in its 44-year existence, and none substantiated.
These numbers substantiate what I've witnessed going to The Drinkery; never have I seen a fight, never have I seen a conflict, never have I seen drug use. These are trumped-up charged with no verification.
The only proof they have is testimony of neighbors who say that patrons of the bar are disorderly and disruptive, that they loiter and litter, that they engage in violent altercations inside the establishment that spill out into the surrounding neighborhood (note: there is no proof of this at all), and that drug activity occurs within and around the establishment (something else with absolutely no proof).
It's pretty unbelievable to me that a liquor license can be taken away with so little proof, with only testimony of neighbors that clearly don't like the bar.
But, then again, it's not. You see, The Drinkery is the most prominent predominantly Black Gay bar in the city. The neighborhood is steadily becoming more and more gentrified. And the white people that live around it probably didn't want this Black Gay bar that gets a little loud at closing time, but has been there more than 40 years, to remain. I'm not sure if it was only white people complaining, but the media reports show this. And it wouldn't surprise me at all that all, or most, of the complainants were white.
Anyone who thinks that race didn't play a role in the complaints and even the decision needs a reality check.
Very little of the media reporting mentions the race of the clientele of the establishment. Look at this bad Baltimore Sun article which ignores both the race and history of the bar.
Is The Drinkery blame free? Absolutely not. It seems the 87-year old white owner of the bar, Fred Allen, has some problematic views on race himself. See the letter below. Why mention threateningly to a white neighbor that he's considering selling to a black strip club owner, in a "I hope you're happy now" sort of way?
Indeed, one of the Liquor Board members cited Allen's "contempt... toward the community" as a reason for his vote to revoke the liquor license. If he had handled this better, I think The Drinkery would probably still be open.
But, while Allen's letter is gross, I think it's worse to shut down an institution, especially a gay black institution with more than 40 years of history at this site, without proof of the behavior that the complainants petitioned. I wish the Liquor Board had given The Drinkery a 3- or 6-month time period in order to either investigate the allegations or allow the establishment to hire security to handle these alleged problems. It's frustrating when elected and appointed leaders cast aside a whole 44 years of history with so little investigation, and the most prominent black gay bar in the city is shut down -- especially less than a year after The Hippo, which had a similar 40-year run, shuts down.
The gayborhood is gentrifying and dying, with only Grand Central remaining. Mainstream and chain developments are cropping up throughout and near the area. Even Pride 2016 seemed to be in jeopardy earlier this year. Decisions like this show us how the mainstream can muzzle alternative communities and subcultures when they don't fall in line. Rumors abound about big developers being behind the harassment of the establishment over the last few years.
The Drinkery will appeal the decision, and I hope they're successful. I hope people are paying attention.
If another owner comes in, I hope the replacement will have the same gritty non-mainstream appeal.
from Epiphany in Baltimore http://ift.tt/1W9fyQZ The Sad and Racist Demise of The Drinkery - Entrepreneur Generations
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