In the beginning they had an area where they had business cards, copies of Watermark, as well as a trophy wall. Georgie’s was a home away from home, and, from the crowds that formed on its very last night, it was clear the community still had love for its longest running neighborhood gay bar. It was a slice of life of not just the community, but of St. “You would see all types of people there bears, twinks, lesbians, straight people. “If I was going to take any kind of straight friend out for their first gay bar, Alibi was a great option,” says Jeff Klein, local comedian and former Georgie’s bartender. The Alibi, as many playfully called it, opened its doors for business in 1998 and gave a generation of LGBT Burgians (and their allies) a place to experience many first-times and rites of passage. Georgie’s was a place where many LGBT men and women came of age. “Sadly,” Barnum said, “Georgie’s is leaving the community.”īut, beyond diminishing returns, the reasons why are unclear. It’s painful, all the way around, but it’s better to be for sale then just be closed.”īoth buildings were owned by Shoppes of Kenwood LLC and sold to a development company out of Tampa. We are looking for people who will own and operate it and want to be in the area and know what Georgie’s means to the community. “We are not marketing to corporate buyers. “We are reaching out to people who have an affinity for the community,” Barnum said in 2014.
The building next door, which previously housed Metro Wellness before Metro moved across the street, was listed for $495,000.īarnum, who has been Georgie’s business liaison for many years, spoke with Watermark last December, and said then that Georgie’s was up for sale, but he seemed confident that whomever they sold to would leave the bar open for business. While details of the sale have still not been made public, Barnum says that the list price for the Georgie’s Alibi building was $895,000. “The bar has been losing money for quite some time,” Barnum says. brokered the Georgie’s Alibi deal and was the first to break the news 10 days before Georgie’s closed its doors for good. Thank you everyone for 15 wonderful years of memories!”īob Barnum of Earnest Realty Inc. Technology and the greater acceptance of alternative lifestyles have impacted the viability of gay venues throughout the country, and the Alibi was not immune to this phenomena. Petersburg community enough for their support over the past 15 years. “The real estate and an adjoining parcel have been sold to a developer who plans on building new housing units. Petersburg will cease operations at the close of business on Saturday, Sept. “It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that we announce the rumors are true and Georgie’s Alibi St.
Then came the Facebook message announcing the bar’s closure. It was an institution, a queer-Cheers a place where everybody knew your name … for better or worse. These were the things that made Georgie’s Alibi the place that it was. The feeling of being both safe and accepted. The friendly bartenders who seemed to genuinely love their jobs.
The disco floor jam-packed with all walks of LGBTQ life. The $2 Long Island iced teas in Mason Jars.