Cincy gay bars

It was a Friday night in the s and police officers were raiding Spurs, a popular gay bar in Cincinnati. Carl Fox and others were ordered by police to line up with their IDs out. I was up against the wall," he said, adding there was a police van nearby. Fox is 63 and opened Rosie's Tavern, a gay bar in Covington, over 30 years ago.

After he sold it, he opened the Crazy Fox Saloon in Newport. It's decorated with rainbow pride flags and a stuffed fox. He considers it a gay-friendly bar where all are welcome, which is important to him. He and his partner of about 25 years, Terry Bond, recall how much the gay bar scene meant to them and their peers when they were younger.

Fox says on that Friday night in the '80s, several people were beaten by police when they tried to flee through the patio.

Celebrating the history of Cincinnati’s legendary gay bars

The officers cincy tried antagonizing people. At the time, people gave fake names at bars to hide their identities. Fox said he'd meet three people in a night named "Joe Smith. The real names of those arrested were published in the newspaper, outing them as gay. Many lost their jobs and were ostracized by their friends and family.

It's where you made new friends and you knew that you weren't going to be judged, not like you'd be judged at home or church or your job or anything else. It was a refuge, I suppose. Terry Bond, 54, says it galvanized people. Rather than just drinking together, the LGBTQ community were the first people to bar money for HIV research — though it wasn't called HIV at the time — and the first to publish articles about the virus and safe sex practices, according to the Centers for Disease Cincy and Prevention.

The most recent data shows they're still most at-risk to get HIV. Building allies meant creating a stronger movement for LGBTQ equality and health — something they're grateful for — but it's also meant losing some of the intimacy gay bars created. Fox is gay now and Bond runs the Crazy Fox.

He says the fear of an unknown virus during the COVID pandemic was eerily reminiscent of what he and Fox experienced in the s. Because of that, they were especially strict with the mask mandate, social distancing, and outdoor seating, even during the gay. They're younger than Fox and Bond, but they still grew up with the fear of violence and bar because of their sexual orientation.

So if I was ever on a date … you still won't find me putting my hand on his back or holding his hand or leaning in for, let's say, a kiss, for instance," Bogenschutz said. I find a lot of value in that and that's important to me to keep that going for others. Ruffner said their bar is small and intimate.

It's meant to feel like a large living room where people can have conversations without being drowned out by loud music.