Evansville’s oldest gay bar to reopen this fall after closing at beginning of pandemic – Evansville Courier & Press
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Someplace Else, the oldest LGBTQ+ centric bar in the city and second-oldest in the state, will reopen to the public on Sept. 10.
“We’ve missed everyone,” said Belinda Breivogel, Someplace Else’s current owner. “I know the community’s really ready for us to open.”
Breivogel, who has been the owner for 11 years, said she took ownership over from her grandmother Ellen Campbell. The bar opened in 1990.
Since the closing of the bar in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Breivogel said she decided to use the time to give the bar updates and renovations it needed.
For her, these updates are allowing her to bring back the home that people miss.
Returning home:Brothers who grew up in Evansville bringing new bookstore to Main Street
“Since we’re the longest-running (alternative) bar (in Evansville,) it’s been home for a lot of the community, especially before the community was accepted other places,” Breivogel said.
“I’ve gotten some messages over the weekend saying, they really appreciate other bars being welcoming, but they miss their home bar,” she said.
Someplace Else was a home known to many, including Kelley Coures, director of the Department of Metropolitan Development for the city of Evansville, and long-time patron.
Coures, who is the appointed LGBTQ+ liaison to the mayor’s office and Human Relations Commission, said there’s been a significant historical impact of bars in the LGBTQ+ community.
“Bars are very important in the historical context of LGBTQ history because they were the first places that gay people could openly congregate,” he said.
Many of these popular alternative nights such as Someplace Else, and The Swinging Door — Someplace Else’s predecessor — were owned by benevolent women who allowed for their bars to be central hubs to create organizations for people to raise money, fight for civil rights and bring a sense of community, Coures said.
“Over the years, Someplace Else has served as not only as an entertainment venue but also as a meeting place for LGBTQ organizations,” he said.
Helping youth:Memorial Baptist’s Youth Employment Program promotes business, life skills in urban garden
Coures, who is a board member of River City Pride, said the bar is where meetings were first held until they were moved to the Coliseum and First Presbyterian Church to attract members under 21.
Coures said one of his favorite parts about the bar is the memorial wall with pictures of past drag queens who have performed there. He recalled a fond memory there with friend Todd Parker, who performed as Magnolia. The two sat at the bar, eating sandwiches and trading lines from “Stage Door” starring Katherine Hepburn.
“I celebrate their courage, vision and willingness to take a risk on a population that was not well thought of in those days,” Coures said of the impact of the previous owners of the LGBTQ+ centric bars throughout the city.
Breivogel said she’s planning the reopening in September to give time for progressing Covid-19 mandates and give people enough time to get vaccinated should they want to. But she said she is anxious to reopen.
“I’m just excited to see everybody,” she said. “I miss all the customers.”