In many cities, bars are the only spaces where LGBTQ people can come together, but for queer women, these spaces are now almost nonexistent, leaving an already isolated community even more alone. Now, that number has dropped by at least one, with many others barely surviving. Just two months into the coronavirus pandemic, in early May of last year, NBC News reported there were only 16 lesbian bars left across the U.S., compared to about 1,000 bars that cater to gay men and mixed-gender LGBTQ crowds. The pandemic has exacerbated an already troubling trend for lesbian bars. Philadelphia's last lesbian bar, the Toasted Walnut. “There just takes a level of energy that I need to focus on that versus trying to fight this,” said Cohen, who permanently shuttered the Toasted Walnut in January. When she was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer in December, she realized it was the end of her bar.
Business was strong at the Toasted Walnut, Cohen said, until the pandemic struck last March, forcing her to temporarily shut its doors in compliance with government orders.īut $11,000 in rent was still due each month, and Cohen struggled to keep up. Cohen opened the Toasted Walnut in 2016, three years after Sisters Nightclub, then the city’s only lesbian venue, closed down.
