One of Los Angeles' two lesbian bars announces it will close due to wildfires
The owners of The Ruby Fruit said their bar will shutter due to the “financial impact” of the wildfires, while lesbian bars nationwide are raising funds to help support Honey’s at Star Love.
One of Los Angeles’ two lesbian bars announced that it would close permanently because of the effect of the wildfires that have devastated the city, while the queer community is rallying to support the remaining lesbian bar.
The Ruby Fruit, a “Sapphically inclined” wine bar that opened on Sunset Boulevard in the city’s Silver Lake neighborhood in February 2023, announced Saturday that operating “is no longer possible due to financial impact from the current natural disaster.”
The Ruby Fruit, a wine bar for the "Sapphically inclined" in Los Angeles.Google Maps“Sadly, along with all the feelings of grief and shock that we have experienced over the last few days, also came this undeniable reality: that running our small business is no longer sustainable,” owners Emily Bielagus and Mara Herbkersman said on social media. “The hospitality industry functions on a day-by-day basis and right now, as they say — the math just isn’t mathing.”
The Los Angeles community was immediately sent reeling, with owners of other lesbian bars across the United States asking how they could help in comments on the post.
The owners of The Ruby Fruit did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether they will raise funds to keep the bar open. In an update Tuesday afternoon on Instagram, they said that they would “have more to share soon regarding any hopeful future plans, as well as ways y’all can help,” and that in the meantime, they will amplify the GoFundMe fundraiser they created for their employees.
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