"We never thought we'd make it a year": Minneapolis gay bar celebrates 45 years in business
MINNEAPOLIS -- When John Moore became co-owner of The Saloon four decades ago, he wasn't sure it was going to last. This month, the bar celebrates 45 years in business, overcoming adversity and creating a safe haven for many.
The Saloon opened in 1977 and is one of the oldest gay bars in Minneapolis.
"I'm just so grateful that the community support is all these years and it continues to support us. I'm just very grateful, very honored to have been the keeper of that [sacred space]," Moore said.
Police raids were commonplace for gay bars across the country in the 1960s and 1970s, including The Saloon.
"It was just crazy. I mean, the cops were always coming in and beating us up and it was horrific," Moore said. "On Saturday nights when we'd be packed, they would come in at midnight, turn the lights up with the billy clubs and just beat us."
Despite the many challenges the bar faced in its early years, Moore and co-owner Jim Anderson were determined to keep it open.
"We just persevere because there was no other place. It kind of became you know, a sacred place where people could come and tell their stories and be who they were," Moore said.
Moore was motivated to stay open because of his experience with discrimination as a gay man. In 1967, when he was 17, he witnessed a murder in Loring Park, which he says police would not respond to because they believed the victim was gay.
"I was just outraged by it. There was just no going back. And that's really what gave us the perseverance was to keep a safe place for people could come and be themselves and tell their stories," Moore said. "There was nobody else to take care of our own tribe, our own people."
LGBTQ+ rights have come a long way since The Saloon opened, and Moore says it has been wonderful witnessing that transformation.
"When gay marriage passed, I felt for the first time in my life like I was part of the fabric of America," said Moore. "I felt like I belonged, like I was part of the country. It was also my country. It was also something I thought I'd never see in my lifetime."
The Saloon still operates as a safe space to this day, Moore says, though it has shifted from being a gay men's bar to being more a queer space.
"When people come in and find someone to talk to or talk to a bartender you know, it's almost sacramental: the conversation. The bartender gets to know them and they get to know the bartender," Moore said. "They help. So I think so it's still used that way today. Definitely. Otherwise, it would evaporate and would turn into something else."
The Saloon celebrated its birthday on Saturday with a drag show, a performance from DJ Hector Fonseca, and a champagne toast.