But for queer establishments – which have historically operated as community centers and safe spaces for marginalized people – the threat is cultural, too, especially during Pride month. The pandemic has hurt businesses across the United States. “Running a small business, especially like a bar/restaurant, it’s a lot of work for no money.” “All of a sudden, we had no revenue, no income, no activity, and unfortunately, it put a dent on something that was already very precarious,” Minko said. He then reached out to the Small Business Association's Network for LGBT Businesses and got approved for a PPP loan.īut the money wasn’t enough to cover mounting rent and utility bills and sales tax. Minko said he was rejected twice for assistance from the federal Paycheck Protection Program, which chains including Shake Shack and Ruth’s Chris Steak House were not. This March, Alibi Lounge temporarily closed due to the coronavirus.
“We want to have places where we feel like we can identify with the culture, with the atmosphere, with the sound, with the lights, with the music, with the people that go to these places,” he said. Minko said he’s proud of what he created: a place where LGBTQ+ people in Harlem can go to feel “automatically accepted, understood, and embraced.” By June 2016, he officially opened Alibi Lounge’s doors. Though Minko’s primary career was in law, he had experience opening bars in partnership with others. “ I walked about 20, 30, blocks, and I didn’t see anything that represented the LGBT image whatsoever.” I fell in love with my street,” Minko said. Minko, who is originally from Gabon, opened Alibi after moving to the neighborhood in 2015. The Harlem-based establishment is reportedly the last Black-owned gay bar in New York City.
“I was wondering, was it worth it?”īut after a prolific GoFundMe campaign and what he describes as a renewed sense of responsibility, Minko said Alibi Lounge is thriving, even in the middle of a pandemic. “I was 75% done with the business,” Minko said to NowThis.
When the coronavirus temporarily shuttered businesses across the country, Alexi Minko was nearly ready to give up on his bar, Alibi Lounge.