Lucky’s Garage, which opened its doors on August 24, 2006, has apparently closed, making it the sixth GLBT bar in Nashville to shut down in about a year.
A note posted on the doors of the bar tells patrons the bar is “closed until further notice.” For more than two weeks, rumors have circulated in the GLBT community that the bar’s closing was imminent.
Emails to bar owners, T. Allen Morgan and Tony Daniel, about the closing have not been responded to yet. O&AN will update this story when more information becomes available.
Sources close to the bar say it was challenged by the current economy, combined with high expenses, which ultimately lead to the bar’s closing.
Lucky’s was the current home to Bianca Paige, Nashville’s most recognized drag performer. Paige has been entertaining Nashvillians for more than twenty years at different locations across Nashville.
The 8,000-square-foot bar is the sixth GLBT bar to close in about a year. The Chute closed in July 2007; DeVil's and TC’s Triangle closed early last year; The Cabaret Episode II closed late last year, and Illusions II has closed and reopened several times under different managment. Nashville also has seen the demise of the GasLite Lounge and The Connection Nashville (closed in March 2005) in the last few years.
“I really hate to hear this,” said John Wade, president of the Nashville GLBT Chamber of Commerce.
“It’s quite a challenge for gay clubs to be successful,” Wade said. “The restaurant and bar business are two of the most difficult businesses to succeed in. The profit margins are so small and with the economy like it is, it’s a difficult environment.”
According to Wade, it’s hard to gauge how GLBT businesses are doing in Nashville overall.
Wade said he was meeting “more and more” gay business owners, and that participation with the GLBT chamber had grown over the last year, but said the chamber did not track specific GLBT business growth.