You can RSVP for the opening night at Club Lambda at. “But we’re seeing that need in a lot of blue states that are larger and the focus was going towards those states.”Ĭlub Lambda is located at 1031 Grand Street in Bushwick and is opening to the public on May 6. 87 Covered with photos and vibrating with history, this bar which opened in 1864 is a living, breathing gay museum. “We’re focusing on satisfying a need in the community, if there is a need within red states, we would be open to doing that,” said Hughes. We weren’t given exposure on social media on a lot of these platforms but we were generating a large number of their revenue.”ĭown the line, not only would Hughes and Solomon like to expand the Lambda Vodka line (which is the primary vodka sold at both Lambda Lounge and Club Lambda) to include other spirits, they would like to see clubs and lounges under the Lambda brand open in major metropolitan areas that are lacking a space for the community. “Now we have something that we can go to 6-7 days a week where we can be comfortable and see people who look like ourselves either in the location or on social media. “What we saw before we opened a location was we were given one night within a particular hour or timeframe to have parties or a location to go to,” said Hughes. That’s why we want to have a night for them. I’ve had people come up to me, a young trans person say I thought it wasn’t a place I could go. “That’s what we want to make known by everybody. Harris lived in the neighborhood and created what became a legendary safe-haven in central Brooklyn that catered to a diverse clientele, LGBT and straight, depending on the hour of the day and day of the week. “We were created by the urban community, but we don’t discriminate against anyone in the LGBTQ community,” said Hughes. Starlite was possibly the first Black-owned gay bar in Brooklyn, catering to LGBT people of color at a time when the Mafia operated most LGBT bars in New York. Regardless, the couple says that Club Lambda and Lambda Lounge are safe spaces for the entire LGBTQ community. “So with Brooklyn, and being a larger location, we are diversifying a lot where we are going to have trans night, lesbian night, and in talks of having another promoter coming in and throwing a party with a lot of non-binary people, queer people, all elements coming into play.”
The strong gay bars Brooklyn scene also makes Williamsburg the central hub. “In Harlem, we are an LGBTQ+ location but we seem to really segment it to the urban male market, which we tried to extend it but weren’t able to grasp other demographics outside the gay, Black male,” said Hughes. From the Statue of Liberty to the Brooklyn Bridge, Gay NYC is sure to leave.
Hughes and Solomon noticed that the bar, though open to the entirety of New York City’s LGBTQ+ community, the main demographic tended to be gay Black men, and they wanted to diversify their audience with a new space.