Iconic gay bar Atlanta Eagle reopening in Midtown – WABE – WABE 90.1 FM

One of the city’s oldest LGBTQ bars is coming back in a new location after a nearly two-year hiatus — and taking the place of a different LGBTQ bar in the process.

The Atlanta Eagle will take over the space currently occupied by Midtown Moon in the Ansley Square shopping center in Midtown, according to Eagle owner Richard Ramey. 

“We’re very excited to welcome everyone to the Atlanta Eagle — our Midtown Moon family, our Atlanta Eagle family,” he told WABE. “The Atlanta Eagle is a family bar and we’re looking forward to bringing the community together.”

Midtown Moon’s final day in that space will be on Sept. 24 and Ramey said the new Atlanta Eagle will be open for business in time for Atlanta Pride, which kicks off on Oct. 7. 

The Eagle ended its 33-year run at the Kodak Building on Ponce de Leon Avenue in November 2020, with Ramey citing a nosedive in business caused by the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason. The bar catered to leather, bear and fetish groups in particular and was the longtime home of the annual Atlanta Leather Pride.

It was also the site of a botched raid by the Atlanta Police Department in 2009 that resulted in several firings and the city of Atlanta paying out over $1 million to victims to settle the lawsuits. 

Ramey said the search for a new home for the Eagle was “very intense.”

“We looked at several locations and we just had not been able to find a spot that would work perfectly for us and our needs,” he said.

A Texas-based group called HV Entertainment took over majority ownership of Midtown Moon earlier this year, according to Project Q Atlanta. HV Entertainment soon reached out to Ramey about starting a partnership and replacing Midtown Moon with the Eagle. 

“I’m really excited to be more a part of the gayborhood over here with Ansley Square and Ansley Mall,” Ramey said. “And I’m really excited that we’re not too far from our original location. This gives us an opportunity to do more things.”

The new Atlanta Eagle will still cater to leather, bear and fetish groups, and bring in DJs. But they’ll add a cabaret and serve food. More changes will roll out in phases over the coming months. 

“One of the highlights of the Eagle was our dancefloor on the weekends and we’re excited to welcome new clientele that’s never been to the Eagle and bring back our Eagle family and bring our community together and have a very thriving and hopping nightlife spot for everyone to enjoy,” Ramey said. 

Ramey and HV Entertainment also plan on keeping the new Atlanta Eagle in place for the long haul. They signed a 15-year lease. 

“We’ve got some new and exciting changes coming,” Ramey said. “Everybody just stay tuned and come check us out. We’ve got some big plans.”