Last month’s unexpected closure of DV8, Boulder’s only explicitly queer bar and performance space, has left a void in the local LGBTQ+ scene. Management has been tight-lipped about the future of the business and reasons behind the decision, but the impact is being felt by artists who relied on the venue as a creative sanctuary.
“My nickname for it was the Island of Misfit Toys, like from the old Rudolph cartoon, because it was such a beautiful place where everyone was welcome,” says Jenn Zuko, aka Valkyrie Rose of Blue Dime Cabaret. “It was heartbreaking to learn about DV8’s closure; it is as if your childhood home had been sold and converted into apartments.”
The East Boulder establishment near Valmont Bike Park was founded by Rawley Gunnels and Johnathan Tilley in 2016 as a distillery specializing in rice-based and gluten-free spirits. The owners, both members of LGBTQ+ community, decided to address Boulder’s lack of gay bars by transforming into a dedicated safe space in June 2021. Since then, it has become a haven for queer people and their allies.
“DV8 was the only space in Boulder where performing really felt safe,” says the performer known onstage as Mona Mystic, whose drag shows and community dance class were hosted by the venue.
“I performed at other bars in Boulder, but they’re not catered to queer people, and I just didn’t feel as comfortable. I was misgendered a lot,” the nonbinary artist says. “I had a lot of uncomfortable instances with straight men at other bars, but I never ran into that at DV8.”
Uncertain future
The first public signs of trouble emerged Aug. 1, when DV8 shared a cryptic Facebook post announcing that all events for the weekend were canceled. An update a few days later said the business was “going through a transition” and would be closed indefinitely.
Since then, the venue’s social media channels and website have remained silent. Google lists the venue as “temporarily closed.” A message shared with Boulder Weekly by operating partner Adam Kroll on Aug. 29 offered little clarity: “We don’t have any information to share at the moment. We will communicate when we have more.”
Performers who depended on DV8 as their primary venue are perplexed by the abrupt closure and find themselves tasked with securing alternative space on short notice.
“We had the rest of our year booked at DV8,” Zuko says. “We were plunged into a mad scramble to find a new venue for all of our upcoming shows.”
For Blue Dime’s Aug. 9 event, the troupe performed at Full Cycle Café & Bar in Boulder. Future shows will be at Liquor Pie, a speakeasy in the back of Odde’s Music Grill in Westminster.
“It’s great, but it isn’t Boulder,” Zuko says of Liquor Pie. “My co-producer, Brandy LeMae, lives in Boulder. I grew up in the city, so performing in Boulder at DV8 was very sentimental.”
While the Blue Dime team was contacted directly, Mona Mystic says they learned of the closure via social media.
“Management never informed me of what was going on,” they say. “This has been devastating, because I worked so hard to get those shows and classes up and running with a good audience.”
‘Hard to run a business’
While DV8 leadership has declined to comment on the impetus behind the closure, the news comes as other local businesses like Under the Sun have shuttered their doors, citing low sales, staffing issues and high operational costs.
“It’s so hard to run a business, especially in Boulder,” says head mixologist Philip Teibel. “Some of this is likely because DV8 was in a very unusual location in Boulder. Also, after COVID, every business is struggling, so DV8’s closure doesn’t surprise me.”
Despite the abrupt shuttering and uncertain future, Teibel remains grateful for their three-year tenure behind the bar at the city’s only dedicated LGBTQ+ space.
“I don’t have anything bad to say about my time at DV8 because of the people, the community, everything,” he says. “It was so nice to serve my community and help make people feel safe.”
Call to action
Many locals fear the venue’s closure could represent the end of an era for the city’s queer community.
“There is not much of a burlesque and drag scene in Boulder; most of it is in Denver, so DV8 was the only place with a real scene,” Mona Mystic says. “I’m still in denial because it was so sudden. DV8 was basically like my second home, so it’s just been hard to wrap my brain around it.”
Teibel, like many others in the community, is disappointed with the closure, but sees it as an opportunity to boost public backing for queer spaces.
“I’ll miss the amazing performers and hope they can find work in other venues soon, because they deserve to perform in spaces that accept and support them,” Teibel says. “I hope DV8’s sudden closure encourages people to get out there and support queer-owned spaces. If people want these places to exist, you have to support them — because they don’t just appear out of the blue, and it takes a lot to keep them running.”