June is normally a period of time when queer Portlanders cram themselves into bars for drag shows and dancing, and as restrictions begin to loosen, some bars are bringing back their drag brunches, scantily-clad performers, and long-awaited festivities. Still, not all is lost - there are still a slew of spaces that offer adult beverages, food, and great company, as this map to Portland’s best LBGTQ-friendly bars and restaurants attests. In 2020, Pride was a much milder affair - a necessity, given the circumstances - and the city’s few gay bars held on, in attempt to make it to the other side of the pandemic.
Even before COVID-19 decimated much of the restaurant and bar industry, gay nightlife spots in Portland, Oregon were an endangered species - In fact, bars catering to local lesbians are nearly extinct, and in recent years, Portland’s queer community has said goodbye to holdouts like Fox & Hounds, Sullivan’s Gulch, and Embers.
