Wednesday, November 27, 2024
Salt Lake loses another gay bar with the closure of Club Verse.
Urban Living
Posted By Babs De Lay on November 27, 2024, 4:00 AM
Many decades ago, there was a tiny little women's bar located under a viaduct just about where The Gateway stands today. My friend Bucket and I were baby gays and really wanted to go to the bar but were terrified for a few reasons—mainly because we weren't sure that our fake IDs would pass muster there.
We were hanging out at the old Sun Tavern, which used to be at the northwest corner of where the Delta Center now stands, because our IDs did pass muster there. "The Sun," as we called it, was a great place to dance to disco, smoke on the patio and throw dollars at drag queens who performed there regularly. By the way, it was named—tongue in cheek—after the Sun Stone at the Nauvoo Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
When we did get the courage to go to "Perky's" one night, we learned from a small love note on the door that the bar had "closed forever and [had] moved to Idaho. Thanks for your business!" Damn.
I've been out since the '70s and was the first out realtor in the Salt Lake Board of Realtors. I ran an ad in local papers of me sitting on my motorcycle that read "If you won't ride with me I don't want you as a client."
People laughed and nowadays those bike riders have grown up like me and many of them own very expensive motorcycles and buy expensive homes!
I worked in gay bars and even owned one a few years back. It's a hard business, but also a fun business. Back then, there were two main bars—Radio City at 147 S. State Street and the Sun Tavern.
The Sun was a famous place for out-of-town gays to hang and a showroom for traveling acts. Gloria Gaynor—famous for the song "I Will Survive"—danced us patrons into a fury by standing on a bench inside the bar one night, belting out her legendary trademark song, and comedian Paul Lynde of Hollywood Squares fame got blind drunk one night and got arrested when he left the bar and caused a scene outside. Drag queens performed regularly at both bars.
Then came The Rainbow Room (an expansion of the Sun), Sisters, Puss N' Boots, the Paper Moon, Club Jam and a few others. The only ones left standing from those days are Try-angles and the Sun Trapp (formerly the Sun Tavern). Newer bars include Milk+, Why KiKi and Club Verse.
Sadly, the owners of Club Verse at 609 S. State Street have just announced they are permanently closing, because co-owner Riley Richter suffered a major cardiac episode and he and his husband Michael have moved to Colorado to get him the best possible care at the Aspen Valley Hospital Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic. We all send our love and prayers to Riley and Michael—two of the nicest guys you could ever meet.
About The Author
Babs De Lay
A full-time broker/owner of Urban Utah Homes and Estates, Babs De Lay serves on the Salt Lake City Historic Landmark Commission. A writer and golfer, you'll find them working as a staff guardian at the Temple at Burning Man each year.
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