Philly may be the sixth largest city in the United States, but at times it can feel quite small – especially in the queer scene.
Enter The Little Gay Pub, a new bar at 13th and Drury streets in the heart of the Gayborhood. The eclectic queer bar opened late last month in time for Pride, aiming to broaden and energize the local scene.
This is The Little Gay Pub’s second location. The first opened in 2023 and is the brainchild of founders Dusty Martinez, Benjamin Gander and Dito Sevilla. The idea was to create a pub, with an old-timey English feel, but then turn up the gayness 500%. And its success has begot a new space right here in Philadelphia.
“In D.C., it was a beautiful space, which is unusual for a gay bar,” said Nick Wilson, a physician, who went to the first location before moving to Philly with his partner. “It was just immediately very popular. And so when we came to Philadelphia, I kept being like, ‘Oh, they need to open a Little Gay Pub here. It would be perfect.’ ”
Now, Wilson’s wish has been granted. “It’s exactly what we need,” he said. “I feel like I personally manifested this bar into existence. So, yeah, you’re welcome.”
Walking into The Little Gay Pub, it’s immediately clear that the space is loud and proud about what it is and who it’s for. While called “little,” the pub has two floors with multiple rooms and a patio space.
The first floor is covered head to toe with custom artwork and posters in vintage frames. Like a drag queen, the decor is bright, fun and in your face. Large chandeliers hang from the ceilings. Images of naked men in compromising positions are displayed without shame or shyness. Pop art of queer icons like Lady Gaga and Dolly Parton hang from the walls, and there are rulers on the bar — leaving much to the imagination about their purpose.
“I would say the whole bar is kind of gaudy intentionally,” said Alec DeCrosta, a store director, who came with three friends. “Each room has a different theme.”
DeCrosta said he and his friends have already become semi-regulars.
“We’ve been here a few times,” said said Jimmy Brazukas, a senior analyst at Comcast, with DeCrosta’s group. “We came the night it opened and it was really fun. We liked the vibe. We thought it was a nice balance between outside and indoor.”
The bathrooms are in one large open space with private stalls and sinks, so no need to worry about which door to choose. The restroom area itself is its own vibe, with forest green tiles and a large picture of Nancy Pelosi on the wall. The stall we checked out had bright, colorful wallpaper with a repeating pattern of tropical birds.
Philadelphia is a sanctuary city, but everyone we spoke with was excited to have another spot in the city dedicated to queer people.
“I’ve lived in Philly for three years now, and I feel like the queer community really needed a space like this, and it’s so welcoming,” said Hannah Nash, a bartender, server and barista. “And for it to open just in time for Pride is just absolutely amazing.”
Nash was at the pub reconnecting with her high school friend, Chade Darby, who had just moved back to the city. The two were chatting about finding and fostering queer community in Philly.
“When I moved here, I heard, ‘Oh yeah, there are gay bars, but some of them are gentrified,’ ” Darby said, noting that queer spaces are often overwhelmed with straight patrons. “This place definitely feels super authentic to the name and a good environment to be in, and safe as well.”
Darby and Nash weren’t the only group to feel this way.
“I think anytime there’s a queer space in Philly, it’s great, because it’s so small, and some of the more prominent ones, no one from Philly’s queer community actually goes to,” said DeCrosta.
“I won’t call them out,” he added, “but there’s just other bars that are pretty famous for being queer friendly, but they’re just not.”
The drink menu features nine different “big gay cocktails” for $15.50 each, with names like “unicorn tears,” “big Ben’s banana,” and the “big gay margarita.”
We tried a few on the list and can confirm that making the margarita spicy for an extra $1.50 gives it a good kick and unicorn tears are refreshing and do indeed have glitter in them.
The bar also means a new safe space for queer Philadelphians to meet new people.
“I like it because it’s different from a lot of the other places,” Brazukas said. “Most people here, I have never seen before. Usually, you kind of recognize people from the community from a bar, but here it’s a whole different group, which is nice and refreshing. It feels more upscale.”
Logan Underwood, one of The Little Gay Pub’s barbacks, was taking time off sitting in a tucked-away booth with friends, ordering drinks. He said that the bar has seen a lot of love and traffic during its first month.
“I worked during Pride the first day on Saturday during the day. It was good. It was very, very busy,” he said. “Lots of people coming from all over – from D.C, from Philly. We’ve been getting a lot of people coming through.”
Underwood was sitting next to his partner, Andrew Graziani, who works as a consultant at an accounting firm.
“I think overall, Philadelphia’s gay scene is inclusive anyway, but it’s just we don’t have a lot of spaces where that can happen,” Graziani said.
“The first thing that came to my mind when we came here for Pride was this was a space that was full of every different type of people,” he said. “This is a space where everyone feels welcome, whether you’re gay or straight. I think we need more spaces like that.”
