For years, lesbian bars were talked about almost entirely in the past tense. Articles focused on what had closed, what had been lost, and how few spaces remained for queer women to gather in real life. When The Lesbian Bar Project launched in 2020, there were just 20 lesbian bars left in the entire United States, a number that felt both shocking and fragile.
Five years later, the story has shifted.
There are now 36 lesbian bars across the country, and the number is still growing. Even more exciting than the growth itself is the way these spaces are evolving. Alongside new and revived lesbian bars, a wave of women’s sports bars has emerged, reshaping what lesbian and sapphic space can look like today.
While not all of these venues are explicitly LGBTQ spaces, the cultural overlap between women’s sports and the lesbian community has always been strong. Put women athletes on the screens, create room to gather shoulder to shoulder, and build an atmosphere centered on collective joy, and queer women will show up. In many cities, women’s sports bars have become unofficial lesbian hubs, expanding nightlife beyond a single definition and making space for community in new ways.
What is happening right now feels less like a comeback and more like an expansion. From sports bars and cooperatives to bookstores, cafés, and dance floors, queer women are building spaces that reflect how we actually gather, celebrate, and connect today.
Marsha’s South Street
Philadelphia, PA
Marsha’s South Street opened in September 2025, and from the start, it felt intentional. Founded by Chivonn Anderson, the bar sits squarely at the intersection of queer community and sports culture in Philadelphia, a city that knows how to show up for its teams.
Named after Marsha P. Johnson, one of the most influential LGBTQ activists of the 1960s and 1970s, Marsha’s is for the whole queer community, but there is no question that women are centered here. It is the kind of place where you can come for a game and stay for hours, pulled in by conversation, familiarity, and comfort food that actually delivers. The fried bologna sandwich alone makes a strong case for lingering.
Marsha’s does not feel like a scene. It feels like a place people return to.
Rikki’s
San Francisco, CA
Rikki’s opened in June 2025 and immediately felt like it understood the assignment. Co-founders Danielle Thoe and Sara Yergovich met while playing on an LGBTQ soccer team, and that origin story matters. This is a bar built by people who know what it feels like to gather around a game and find community there.
Named after Rikki Streicher, the legendary San Francisco lesbian who opened Maud’s in the 1960s and later Amelia’s, Rikki’s bridges the past and present beautifully. Streicher was also a co-founder of the Gay Games, which makes the sports forward focus feel especially fitting.
The picnic table seating encourages easy conversation. The kind where you come with friends and end up talking to the people next to you by halftime. It is social, communal, and unapologetically queer.
Boyfriend Cooperative
Brooklyn, NY
Boyfriend Cooperative is one of those spaces that immediately feels different. Softer, warmer, and more intentional. Located in Bushwick, this queer worker-owned coffee shop and cocktail bar was founded by Hena Mustafa, Mica Fisher, Nat Risk, and Kacey Liebes as a cooperative rooted in shared ownership and care.
By day, it is a cozy coffee shop serving locally roasted beans and baked goods. By night, it shifts into a cocktail bar with inventive seasonal drinks and a steady stream of community events. I went to their free Halloween party with bingo, drag, costumes, and zero pressure, and left thinking this is what people mean when they talk about third spaces.
Boyfriend hosts poetry readings, open mics, holiday gatherings, and creative workshops, all centered on queer joy and mutual support. It is not a traditional lesbian bar, but it absolutely functions as lesbian space.
Gladys Books & Wine
Brooklyn, NY
Founded by Tiffany Dockery and named after her grandmother, Gladys Books & Wine is New York City’s first Black lesbian bookstore and wine bar, and it feels as thoughtful as it is beautiful.
The two-story Bed Stuy space is designed for intention and connection. Upstairs, a bookstore café highlights voices like Audre Lorde, Janelle Monáe, and James Baldwin. Downstairs, the wine bar hosts readings, workshops, and gatherings that feel intimate without being exclusive. In warmer months, a leafy backyard opens up, reinforcing the feeling that Gladys is a place to settle into.
It is a sanctuary, and one that fills a long-standing gap in the city’s cultural landscape.
Wilka’s Sports Bar
New York, NY
Wilka’s Sports Bar is women-owned and unapologetically focused on women’s sports. Located in Manhattan, it flips the script by putting women athletes and teams at the center. Not as a novelty, but as the main event.
While Wilka’s is not officially a lesbian bar, culturally, it is very gay. Packed WNBA watch parties, inclusive energy, and a crowd that skews queer without needing to label itself. Alongside multiple screens, the bar offers a simple menu, live events, and even a small bookshelf featuring books by women athletes.
If sporty lesbians are your type, romantically or platonically, this might be your place.
The Pearl
Denver, CO
When Denver lost Blush & Blu, its last remaining lesbian bar, the absence was deeply felt. Enter The Pearl, a sapphic-centered bar and café that feels less like a replacement and more like a response.
Originally launched as Pearl Divers in late 2024, the concept quickly outgrew its first home. By April 2025, co-owners Dom Garcia and Ashlee Cassity, alongside new partners, took over the iconic Mercury Café space, preserving its history while infusing it with queer warmth and intention.
The Pearl is expansive and eclectic. Open mics in the Rose Room, conversation corners in the Jungle Room, dance floors, drag, speed dating, karaoke. It feels homey in the best way, like multiple versions of queer life coexisting under one roof.
Sometimes the loss of a space sparks something even better.
SweetWater WeHo
West Hollywood, CA
SweetWater WeHo has been one of the most anticipated lesbian bar openings in the country. Lesbian owned and proudly loud about it, the club began teasing its arrival in late 2025, promising a bold inclusive escape where music pulses, live entertainment ignites, and cocktails flow.
By December, construction appeared to be in its final stages, and the excitement was palpable. In a neighborhood long dominated by gay male nightlife, SweetWater feels like a reclamation. A reminder that queer women still want, deserve, and will absolutely support spaces made for them.
