Run nears end for Majestic Saloon: Northampton venue focused on LGBTQ community is up for sale
Published: 10-02-2024 4:37 PM
Modified: 10-02-2024 4:55 PM |
NORTHAMPTON — The Majestic Saloon, Northampton’s only nightlife venue explicitly focused on the LGBTQ community, is for sale and is slated to host its final show on Halloween night.
Co-owners Kayla Abney and Alden Peotter attributed the necessity of putting the bar up for sale to a few factors — among them, a lease ending, an investor who wanted to withdraw their involvement, and changes in nightlife itself. In the past, Peotter said, customers going to the Majestic for an event would also stay at the bar before and after it; now, it’s much more common for them to just go for the event, then leave, which dents potential revenue from drinks.
A Facebook post from September lists a few specs of the 24 Main St. space: it has a negotiable lease, a capacity of 49 people, an alcohol inventory, and a liquor license. The monthly rent is $4,000, and the space is about 1,500 square feet, Abney said, though that includes a basement that’s inaccessible to patrons.
They have had some interested buyers so far, including one who may want to turn the bar into a restaurant, but they hope that the spirit of the Majestic will remain untouched if it does change hands.
“The goal is that it stays queer, in whatever form that is,” Peotter said. “Whatever new ownership wants to do to it, that is a big factor in the decision of who takes over.”
The Majestic wasn’t always an explicitly LGBTQ bar. In the spring of 2019, the business, which filled the space formerly held by The Foundry, opened with a focus on craft beer. It became a “fully popped queer bar, lounge and occasional club” under a team of business partners (two of whom had been Majestic employees) in the fall of 2019, but shuttered in October of 2020.
In 2021, after pandemic restrictions had eased, Abney took over from previous majority owner Phil Peake with a plan to redecorate the space with an overtly feminine aesthetic. (Peake had even debated making the bar a rage room, Abney said, where guests pay to smash breakable items to relieve stress.)
Abney had put on a queer-friendly event at the bar in 2019 and had found a love for it; now, the bar has events throughout the week. Though she’ll miss producing live events and working with performers, the timing of the sale makes sense for her.
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“It’s been three years, and I feel like it’s time,” she said. “I just want to enjoy nightlife instead of curating it all.”
Abney also identifies as queer, and she said that there’s something special about overseeing a space for queer Gen Z women who have gotten to appreciate a welcoming space at Majestic like she used to experience at Diva’s, an LGBTQ nightclub in Northampton that closed in 2016. Even so, she said, one of the perks of having events for the LGBTQ community at Majestic is “seeing older queer people,” which “gives people hope — ‘Oh, I can do this. I can live authentically as myself.’”
The Majestic’s regular events include meetups for gay men and lesbians, comedy nights, karaoke, tarot, “Dirty Bingo,” and more. The drink menu features cocktails named after LGBTQ celebrities and gay icons like Lady Gaga, Cher, Judy Garland, Diana Ross and Beyonce.
Abney said that customers have been pretty understanding, though some “are a little worried because a lot of people can call Majestic home.” She added that the closure is also a loss for women, even those who aren’t part of the queer community, because many of them have said that Majestic is the only bar in Northampton where they feel safe.
The bar’s last event will be a drag show with more than a dozen performers, including Peotter himself, on Halloween night, fittingly named “The Majestic Finale.” The 21-plus party will open at 7 p.m. with performances from 9 p.m. to midnight. Admission is $10.
Before that, though, they have a full lineup of events throughout October. The bar is open daily at 24 Main St. from 7 p.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday and 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
As they prepare to say goodbye to the Majestic, Abney plans to start a 9-to-5 job, and Peotter is involved with expanding a restaurant group in Amherst. They both look back on their time running the bar with fondness.
Peotter said: “We have all love for this space, and it’s been the most exciting thing that I will probably do, hopefully, in my entire life. I would love to one-up it, but, as of right now, it’s something I’m extremely proud of, and I know we both feel that way.”
Abney said, “It’s been a wild ride, but all rides are fun. It’s crazy for two minutes, and then at the end, you’re like, ‘Wow!’ And I really do feel like that is gonna be how I feel at the end of it – ‘I [expletive] did it.’”
Carolyn Brown can be reached at cbrown@gazettenet.com.