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The couple called in sick to work when they heard Cubbyhole was reopening, and drove into the city from Mamaroneck while taking turns calling for reservations until they eventually arrived in time for a last-minute table. They donated to the bar’s fundraiser to help ensure its survival. Nina, 28, and their girlfriend Mariana, 24, were regulars at Cubbyhole before the March shutdown (and have selfies in the green bathroom to prove it). Over the sounds of ABBA and Dolly Parton, while longtime and beloved bartender Deb Greenberg rushed between tables, several patrons voiced their relief that Cubbyhole still exists - that the bar and its history served as reminders of memorable (and sometimes hazy) nights out pre-pandemic and as an essential queer gathering space. “We’re just so happy it’s still here, and here for a long time,” Lindsay says. With only two other lesbian bars in New York City, Henrietta Hudson, which will reopen this spring after closing last March, and Ginger’s, a Brooklyn dive that has yet to reopen, Cubbyhole’s endangered status doesn’t go unnoticed. Cubbyhole is only for outdoor seating at the moment Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner
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You kind of have to be, it’s so small.” Even with social distancing, the couple was happy to have their own table on the sidewalk, remembering nights crowded inside the 500-square-foot bar, and past Pride celebrations outside on the same corner - when drinking outside the bar was frowned upon. “It’s a staple of the community,” Lynsey says. Unable to reach the bar by phone, which was busy all day, Lindsay walked over from their apartment nearby to secure a seat off the waitlist. The two have been visiting the bar separately for over a decade, and in recent years, after meeting in a softball league, the convivial spot remains the couple’s regular hangout. Wives Lynsey, 45, and Mariel, 35, had also been eager to return to Cubbyhole, counting down the days until the “epicenter” of their social lives reopened.
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“You always know you’ll be around a community. “This is the only lesbian space in New York, it’s a safe space for us to come to,” Carlone says. They needed to be back for opening day and start their cycle as regulars once again. More than 100 people came out on Cubbyhole’s reopening day Melissa Kravitz HoeffnerĪt a four top, 31-year-old Brooklynite Vanessa Carlone and three friends, all in leather jackets, convened at a sidewalk table, ordering cans of Dyke Beer (a new Brooklyn-brewed saison that supports saving lesbian spaces) and reminiscing over the multiple times a week they’d hang out in a packed corner of the bar. A wooden outdoor dining setup built by volunteer lesbian carpenters safely seats a dozen socially distant guests, and people can order hot dogs or packaged sandwiches with cocktails, as food orders are required with alcohol sales these days. The bar is back with minor tweaks and improvements: A new frozen machine offers daiquiris, margaritas, and frose. On Thursday, April 8, regulars, newbies, and tourists eagerly snatched up reservations, selling out the bar on a sunny day ideal for outdoor drinking. “Lesbians need a place to go,” Menichino says, chugging coffee while ensuring all seats, reservations, and hand sanitizers were ready to go for Cubbyhole’s grand reopening after a months-long hibernation. The table-only rules didn’t squelch the enthusiasm of more than 300 people who visited for Cubbyhole’s first night in 2021. Those moments keep Menichino going, despite all the restrictions, including patrons not being allowed to order at the bar, at a lesbian bar. In fact, a couple got engaged in front of the closed bar on a frigid February day. Customer-designed T-shirts helped raise additional funds, and even as the taps were closed and the gate was locked, Menichino felt the community’s excitement for Cubbyhole’s imminent return. Cubbyhole reopened last summer, and closed when the weather cooled down mid-December. Like many lesbian bar owners struggling to sustain their businesses, she started a GoFundMe to help cover expenses at the shuttered space. A place where the queer community could meet partners, grieve, and gather safely. Today, the phone at Cubbyhole on a picturesque West Village intersection, 281 West 12th Street, won’t stop ringing as regulars are eager to reserve a seat outdoors at the city’s only open lesbian space to reopen.Īfter Menichino’s month or so of brooding during 2020’s first shutdown in March, messages from guests reminded her of Cubbyhole’s unique status: It’s one of Manhattan’s last two lesbian bars. At this time last year, Lisa Menichino was in bed sipping a constant cycle of bourbon and frozen push pops - often mixed for the sulkiest, sweetest drink she could imagine - while fretting over the future of her bar.