Q ATLus Magazine | May 20, 2021

May 20, 2021

P U d e r Fi s J D o g e u F

aze

Abl d n e k e e Set W

ATL Couple So Nice They Married Twice The Right to Complain About Gay ‘Bachelor’ Controlling Queens Who Stage-Direct Everything

New FLAME THE EMBER OF POST-PANDY HOPE that smoldered over the last several months really caught wind in the past week or so. Q ATLus blew on it as hard as we could along the way, and this issue really fans the flames.

Isn’t it fitting, then, that the weekend of parties for dancing queens is headed up by a crew calling themselves Fuego? The promoters are responsible for three of

five back-to-back gay male dance parties slated for Friday through Sunday, and our cover story introduces the five flaming hot DJs manning the decks.

You know what else is flaming? Problematic former “Bachelor” Colton

Underwood and his eye roll of a Netflix deal with Gus Kenworthy. Q Voices takes aim at pretty white mediocrity yet again rising above more worthy

LGBTQ attention seekers, and 10 Q Things remembers sports figures who came out with their actual livelihoods on the line.

Also hot this week, the gay couple behind Forks & Flavors, the Kennesaw restaurant featuring jerk ribs and out-of-this world mac-n-cheese. Not so hot? The end of Agatha’s dinner theater after 30 years.

There’s a dumpster fire in Q Advice, a fire drill in Q Events, and politicians drawing fire in the Q News on our sister site Project Q Atlanta. Visit us daily at theQatl.com.

RICHARD CHERSKOV PUBLISHER & SALES RICHARD@THEQATL.COM 404-917-9678 JOHN NAIL ART DIRECTOR JOHN@THEQATL.COM

MIKE FLEMING EDITOR MIKE@THEQATL.COM RIVENDELL MEDIA NATIONAL ADVERTISING SALES@RIVENDELLMEDIA.COM 212-242-6863 theQatl.com 5

INSIDE THIS ISSUE VOLUME 4 ISSUE 26

M AY 2 0, 2 0 2 1

HEY, SPORT

Groundbreaking LGBTQ Athletes

19

10

So Hot the Heat Feel COVER

Meet the Fuego Weekend DJs 22 theQatl.com

13

15

FOOD

COMMUNITY

The Couple Behind Forks & Flavors

Agatha’s No Good Very Bad Year

Dig In

10 Q Things............... 10 Q Food....................... 13 Q Community............ 15 Q Events.................... 23 Map............................ 26 Q Advice............... … 29 6 theQatl.com

Mystery No More

Q ADVICE

Action Sequence

Stop Stage-Directing Your Friends

29

Instagram.com/theQatl

Q

VOICES

Confirmed ‘BACHELOR’ IS IT HEROIC FOR A CISGENDER BODY normative white gay male celebrity to come out for cash? No. Is it ultimately good news for the larger queer community? We can only hope.

We all know how it goes. You’re white. You’re pretty. You’ve got perfect shiny white teeth. You got your big break through reality television, acting or sports.

Who cares? Lots of people do, apparently.

When one of these generic celebrities comes out as LGBTQ, it’s cool, bro. It’s not a bad thing.

It’s normalization and one more queer person for young people maybe to look to see if they can see themselves, or someone they aspire to be.

most noteworthy party of this pre-recorded sit-down interview — with the quietly out veteran morning news anchor Robin Roberts, no less — was his coming out in conjunction with a Netflix deal.

In an upcoming streaming series, Underwood will be guided through modern white gay life by fellow pretty boy jock Gus Kenworthy. The former Olympian and gay poster boy seems to be a toxin free shiny white privilege fun-time guy.

EYEROLLS AND JUDGMENTS

Do we still have the right (or duty) to complain about these bros, their flamboyant privilege, and their lucrative TV deals? Of course we do!

If Netflix wanted a white male presenter, why not book Adam Rippon? He’s available. He also has a fucking personality. But sometimes he’s a little faggy, so Bob and Betty Beercan might not watch more than one episode.

What’s more, it is totally OK to complain when things are just OK. That’s how things get better.

SCOTT But what good does it do, besides KING I want diversity though. There make us feel better, like we’ve are too many white pretty gay conjugated the latest entertainment news headline celebrities. I want as many young people to want to our wokeness? to be RuPaul or Guy Branum as Matt Bomer or What does it get us? I’ll tell you. Not being Andrew Rannells. satisfied with beautiful white dudes winning again, ENTER ‘THE BACHELOR’ hosting all the late-night chat shows and taking Being gay doesn’t mean you’re not a douchebag all the gay money from Netflix leads directly to or a card-carrying dealer of toxic masculinity. the next queer trans person of color to come out Enter Colton Underwood, the star of season 14 and get a book deal and a Netflix deal and then to of ABC’s The Bachelorette and season 23 of The rule the world. That’s what.

Bachelor (I looked it up!).

We must no longer be fooled by faux progressive This nice, polite, assiduously well-mannered bro reality stars and influencers. Kim Kardashian has from the Midwest played college and pro football famously claimed that “getting people to like you before becoming a two-bit reality star for his is a talent.” We all know that getting people to like you is inherently easier for rich, pretty, and quite resplendent smile and espoused virginity. often boring, white people.

After two seasons of trashy television, Colton stuck We cannot be fooled by the boring things that to his virginity story and even wrote a book in which glitter. We have to become the glitter. We have to he vehemently denied his rumored queerness. animate the world with a richer shade of queer.

A couple years later, armed with media coaching Scott King lives and writes in Atlanta. and a press release, Underwood came out as gay. The 8 theQatl.com

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theQatl.com 9

Q

10 THINGS

Game CHANGERS LONG BEFORE ADAM RIPPON and Gus Kenworthy, LGBTQ

athletes came out and changed the

world. Here are some of the biggest.

Jason Collins NBA

Billie Jean King WTA

Glenn Burke MLB

Greg Louganis Olympic Diving

10 theQatl.com

Brittney Griner WNBA

Martina Navratilova WTA

Tom Waddell

Olympic Track & Field

Dave Kopay NFL

Renee Richards WTA

John Curry

Olympic Ice Skating

theQatl.com 11

12 theQatl.com

FOOD

Q

They Did. TWICE.

Kennesaw couple finds love and success with Forks & Flavors

By Patrick Saunders AS IF A PANDEMIC WASN’T DISRUPTIVE enough in 2020, Atlanta-area couple David Wilmott and Darnell Morgan added to the whirlwind by opening a restaurant and marrying each other – for the second time.

Thanks in part to a popular weekend brunch and some seriously delicious macaroni and cheese,

Forks & Flavors has thrived since opening on George Busbee Parkway in Kennesaw in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.

“The timing was just right with everything as far as having the capital needed to open a restaurant and having the time needed to do it,” Morgan said.

The restaurant’s cuisine is “American food with worldly infusions,” Morgan said, adding that their weekend brunch is the busiest time of the week.

“Our creole shrimp and grits is by far the most popular, followed by our Jamaican jerk ribs,” he said.  theQatl.com 13

FORKS & FLAVORS continued ‘THIS IS IT’ The couple met on Twitter in 2010. Four years later, Wilmott launched Forks & Flavors as a catering business.

“The very first thing that started Forks & Flavors was his macaroni and cheese,” Morgan said.

“I tasted his macaroni and cheese and said this is

“The very first thing that started Forks & Flavors was his macaroni and cheese. I tasted his macaroni and cheese and said this is it right here.”

— Darnell Morgan

it right here.”

The pair were married, but Morgan pushed for a divorce in 2017. The men stayed in touch, eventually reconciled and remarried in January 2020.

“Love led us back to each other,” Morgan said.

“We’ve always been in love with one another. I just might not have been ready at the time.”

Another perk of running a business with your partner? Wilmott said it’s getting to see one another all day long.

“We actually miss each other when we’re not around each other,” he added.

COBB AND BEYOND Morgan said Kennesaw isn’t the most welcoming city for a Black gay couple. But after more than a decade, they learned how to navigate the Cobb County city of nearly 34,000 people.

“We’ve lived up here together for 11 years, so this is what we know, this is where we’re at, this is our home,” he said. “We’re not going to have a rainbow

The couple acquired the restaurant space in

crosswalk, but you can wave a rainbow flag here

September and opened in November. Wilmott

and there.”

is executive chef and Morgan runs the front of

Wilmott and Morgan have expansion on their

the house.

“It’s been a really great experience just getting open and operating and actually seeing people coming in and out every day,” Morgan said.

14 theQatl.com

minds. They’re planning Forks & Flavors locations in Chattanooga and Houston later this year.

Visit 2920 George Busbee Parkway NW in Kennesaw, and forksandflavors.com.

COMMUNITY

Q

Center rent, which was waived all of last year, were in the neighborhood of $5,000. A crowdfunding effort raised about $10,000, federal relief funds are long gone, and a grant Warren applied for with a plan to reinvent the restaurant was uncertain.

He knew the end of Agatha’s was a reality in a meeting with his landlords the first week of April.

He gave them a timeline of reopening that hinged on that grant. It wasn’t enough.

So LONG COVID claims Agatha’s dinner theater, leaves owners ‘battered’

“The landlords had been very generous with rent concession thus far, but were unwilling to extend them past April 1,” Warren said. “That meant slightly more than $10,000 was due immediately.

In essence the landlords did what I was not able to bring myself to do.”

That is, pull the plug.

By Mike Fleming BACK IN NOVEMBER, LGBTQ-OWNED Agatha’s A Taste of Mystery was on the brink of permanent closure amid COVID-19 restrictions on business. In April, the pandemic finally pushed the popular eatery over the abyss after three decades of mystery and meals.

“More than 30 years swept away in 13 months and gallons of tears,” said Ricky Warren, who co-owned the interactive mystery dinner theater with Cat Angerami. “Battered and bruised we are, healthy and hopeful we remain.”

The LGBTQ business partners felt the loss in a personal way after decades of clearing hurdles in the way of their business, Warren said.

“All my life, I’ve had to swim against the tide to keep my head above water,” he continued. “In spite of all the obstacles, humps and bumps we made it happen.

It instilled a sense of pride in what we had accomplished unlike anything else we’ve ever experienced.”

“Not even COVID-19 can take that away,” he added. “Hence the sense of loss is unlike any we’ve known.”

Fixed costs over and above the tony Peachtree

LASTING LEGACY

Warren gives staff and customers much of the credit for memorable “Agatha’s magic.”

“Our incredible actors, writers, directors, wait and kitchen staff loved what they did and it made a lasting impact, Warren said. “Many of our staff had been with Agatha’s for years. That in and of itself had a huge part to do with our success.”

“Thousands of birthdays, anniversaries, marriage proposals and celebrations of all kinds made for an evening not soon forgotten,” he added. “I truly loved going to work every day as you never knew what our treasure trove of customers would contribute nightly.”

Warren also had a message for people who gave to last year’s crowdfunding effort.

“Agatha’s had the most incredible family of customers, and I would like them to know that I gave it my best shot at returning,” Warren said. “Without them we would not be having this conversation. Thank you all from the top to the bottom of my heart.” theQatl.com 15

18 theQatl.com

COVER

Q

scend e kend d e s e e i W d o d a g es + d er Fue v o a t n a l DJ zaddi on At S UCTION D O R P nFUEGO ce to Atla i p s r i e h t adds ix ce party m n a d y a g ta’s nrough Su h t y a d i r this F nhance e t s ju y e day. Th ng plans i p m u p s the alway t Heretic, a s y u g e h f rom t . and Xion GA Boy g they brin , r e h t e g o T ned spinw o n e r r five world tables ove e h t o t s r meiste hts. Get g i n d n a s kthree day while ma e r e h l u f an eye l.  r an earfu o f s n la p ing

DJ Adrian Dalera (Mexico) Fuego Fired Up Friday, May 21, 10 p.m.

Heretic hereticatlanta.com

theQatl.com 19

DANCE DJs continued

Too Hot t DJ Robbie Nielsen Fuego Afterburn Saturday, May 22, 3 a.m.

Believe Music Hall facebook.com/fuegoproductionsatl 20 theQatl.com

DJ Dan De Leon Fuego WÜF Tea Dance Saturday, May 22, 3 p.m.

Heretic hereticatlanta.com

o Handle DJ Paulo w/Kevin Durard & Phoenix Saturday, May 22, 10 p.m.

Masquerade gaboyevents.com theQatl.com 21

DANCE DJs continued

DJ Phil Romano Xion Afterhours Sunday, May 22, 3 a.m.

Believe Music Hall facebook.com/xionatlanta

Feel the Heat 22 theQatl.com

Q Events

The Best LGBTQ Things to Do in Atlanta This Week THURSDAY, MAY 20

SATURDAY, MAY 22 The Price of Salt, Or Carol The virtual monthly LGBTQ Book Club discusses Patricia Highsmith’s steamy 1952 lesbian romance novel @ Zoom, 10 a.m. charisbooksandmore.com

SUNDAY, MAY 23

Special Ryan, Karen and Kim return for a second season of the runaway hit. Season 2 brings guest stars galore, including Charlie Barnett, Leslie Jordan, Ana Ortiz and more @ Netflix, starting today. netflix.com Lukewarm Mildred’s Q&A The third Thursday of the month means Ruby Redd hosts very adult trivia @ Hot Betty’s Breakfast Bar, Tucker, 8 p.m. hotbettystucker.com

FRIDAY, MAY 21 – SUNDAY, MAY 23 Fuego Weekend Five gay dance parties across three days from collaborating promoters. Meet the legendary DJs, including opening night’s Adrian Dalera (photo), in this issue @ Heretic, Believe Music Hall and Masquerade, all weekend. facebook.com/ fuegoproductionsatl

FRIDAY, MAY 21 Comedy Squared Truck up to Marietta to see a lineup of comics including LGBTQ Atlanta’s own Ian Aber @ Brick & Board, 8 p.m. thebrickandboard.com

Master Of None Side character Denise — played by series co-creator, writer and queer icon Lena Waithe — gets a whole season to herself! Let’s hash out this girlfriend situation @ Netflix, starting today. netflix.com LGBTQ Doggie Day Atlanta Police Department hosts your fur babies for a day of outdoor fun with the force’s LGBTQ liaison and Animal Cruelty Prevention Unit @ Piedmont Park Dog Park, 10 a.m. Write elking@ atlantaga.gov

WEDNESDAY, MAY 26 Beer Run Front Runners Atlanta brings back its popular monthly event, wherein they run the Beltline the have drinks and food @ Guac y Margy’s, 6:30 p.m. facebook.com/ frontrunnersatlanta Find an expanded calendar of weekend events every Thursday at theQatl.com. theQatl.com 23

on tA ve .N E dm Pi e

4

9

11th St. NE

8

10th St. NE

Amsterdam Ave.

Dr. N E

Piedmont Park

14th St. NE

12th St. NE

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West Peachtree St. NE

E

75

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85

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Spring St. NW

Q Atlus Map

10 5

Virginia Ave. NE

1 9th St. NE

227 10th St. NE 2. Bulldogs Bar 893 Peachtree St NE 3. Friends on Ponce 736 Ponce De Leon Ave NE 4. My Sister’s Room 84 12th St 5. X Midtown 990 Piedmont Ave. NE 6. Atlanta Eagle 306 Ponce De Leon Ave NE

24 theQatl.com

 Bars

 Restaurants North Ave. NW

North Ave. NW

 Clubs  Retail/Services

Not Shown

Future (opening soon) 50 Lower Alabama St SW, Suite 180

8. Henry’s Midtown Tavern 132 10th St NE

Mary’s 1287 Glenwood Ave SE

9. Joe’s onRalph Juniper McGill Blvd. NE 1049 Juniper St NE

Sister Louisa’s 466 Edgewood Ave SE

10. Zocalo Mexican Kitchen & Cantina 187 10th St NE Highland Ave. NE 11. Barking Leather After Dark 306 Ponce De Leon Ave NE (inside Eagle) 12. Urban Body Fitness 500 Amsterdam Ave NE

The T 465 Boulevard SE Swinging Richards 1400 Northside Dr NW Lips Drag Show Palace 3011 Buford Highway NE Lost ’n Found Youth Thift Store 2585 Chantilly Dr NE

Ponce De Leon Pl. NE

3

Key

Ponce De Leon Ave. NE

7. Flex 76 4th St NW

Ponce De Leon Pl. NE

r. NE roe D Mon

Charles Allen Dr. NE

11 6

St. Charles Ave.

Glen Iris Dr. NE

1. Blakes on the Park

NE

NE

Piedmont Park

Piedmont Ave.

Spring St. NW

7

2 Juniper St. NE

85

Peachtree St.

75

West Peachtree St. NE

8th St. NE

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Key

 Bars  Restaurants  Clubs  Retail/Services

Cheshire Bridge Road 5. The Heretic 2069 Cheshire Bridge Road NE

9. Gravity Fitness 2201 Faulkner Rd NE

2. Tripp’s Bar 1931 Piedmont Circle NE

6. Las Margaritas 1842 Cheshire Bridge Road NE

10. Southern Nights 2205 Cheshire Bridge Road NE

3. Woof’s Sports Bar 494 Plasters Ave NE

7. Roxx Tavern 1824 Cheshire Bridge Road NE

11. Tokyo Valentino (Cheshire Bridge) 1739 Cheshire Bridge Road NE

4. BJ Rooster’s 2043 Cheshire Bridge Road NE

8. 2Qute Hair Salon 1927 Cheshire Bridge Road NE

nr Mo

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4. Oscar’s 1510 Piedmont Ave NE

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r. NE

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5. Barking Leather 1510 Piedmont Ave NE 6. Boy Next Door 1447 Piedmont Ave NE

D Monroe

Piedmont Park

1. Felix’s on the Square 1510 Piedmont Ave NE

3. Midtown Moon 1510 Piedmont Ave NE

8

6

Ansley Park 2. The Hideaway 1544 Piedmont Ave NE

E

4

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7

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Morningside Dr. NE

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Ave. NE

1. Sequel Bar 1086 Alco St. NE

Key

 Bars  Restaurants  Clubs  Retail/Services

7. Brushstrokes 1510 Piedmont Ave NE 8. Equilibrium Fitness 1529 Piedmont Ave NE

theQatl.com 25

Q Atlus Map Directory The businesses on the preceding pages are integral parts of Atlanta’s LGBTQ landscape. Those listed in boxes are consistent Q partners and community allies.

BARS, CLUBS & RESTAURANTS Atlanta Eagle 306 Ponce De Leon Ave NE BJ Roosters 2043 Cheshire Bridge Road NE Blakes on the Park 227 10th St. NE Bulldogs Bar 893 Peachtree St NE Felix’s on the Square 1510 Piedmont Ave NE Friends on Ponce 736 Ponce De Leon Ave NE Future 50 Lower Alabama St SW, Suite 180 Henry’s Midtown Tavern 132 10th St NE The Heretic 2069 Cheshire Bridge Road NE The Hideaway 1544 Piedmont Ave NE Joe’s on Juniper 1049 Juniper St NE Las Margaritas 1842 Cheshire Bridge Road NE Lips Drag Show Palace 3011 Buford Highway NE Mama’s Cocina 1958 Piedmont Road NE Mary’s 1287 Glenwood Ave SE Midtown Moon 1510 Piedmont Ave NE My Sister’s Room 84 12th St Oscar’s 1510 Piedmont Ave NE Roxx Tavern 1824 Cheshire Bridge Road NE

26 theQatl.com

Sequel Bar 1086 Alco St. NE

Sister Louisa’s 466 Edgewood Ave SE Swinging Richards 1400 Northside Dr NW The T 465 Boulevard SE Tripp’s Bar 1931 Piedmont Circle NE Woof’s Sports Bar 494 Plasters Ave NE X Midtown 990 Piedmont Ave. NE Zocalo Mexican Kitchen & Cantina 187 10th St NE

RETAIL & SERVICES 2Qute Hair Salon 1927 Cheshire Bridge Road NE Barking Leather 1510 Piedmont Ave NE Barking Leather After Dark 306 Ponce De Leon Ave NE (inside Atlanta Eagle) Boy Next Door 1447 Piedmont Ave NE Brushstrokes 1510 Piedmont Ave NE Equilibrium Fitness 1529 Piedmont Ave NE Lost ’n Found Youth Thrift Store 2585 Chantilly Dr NE Urban Body Fitness 500 Amsterdam Ave NE

ADULT Flex 76 4th St NW Southern Nights 2205 Cheshire Bridge Road NE Starship Galaxy/Starship Novelties 2273 Cheshire Bridge Road NE Tokyo Valentino 1739 Cheshire Bridge Road NE

Q Advice

And,

SCENE!

The problem with trying to direct how others act

Q

I love my boyfriend as is, so let me start with that. I truly cherish his intelligence and ability to express himself. From art to politics to social justice and beyond, he is observant and articulate.

Dear Stage Director: People cannot act like someone they aren’t for very long. Controlling them is the wrong approach from the start.

You can’t stage-manage this scene. Instead, let’s look at what you can control: You and your expectations. Look at your preconceived notions and deal with those.

You don’t trust your friends to see through the vocabulary to the person, and you don’t trust your boyfriend to find ways to communicate. Maybe worse, you don’t trust yourself.

I’m afraid exactly what I like about him will be the thing that completely turns off my best friends. They are self-built business owners, and they are leery of anyone they see as “showing off.”

They think intellectuals are privileged elitists.

Don’t forget you are good at choosing the people in your life.

Chances are that they feel the same way, so while you can’t make them like each other, you can probably trust them to make the most of the meeting for your sake.

I want everyone to get along, so is it OK to have my boyfriend tone it down a bit? I think if he avoids big vocabulary words and tries not to go into elaborate descriptions of nuanced concepts, my friends can get to know him before they get to know his style. I can also ask my friends to open their hearts in advance and explain that he can sound a bit haughty.

As for which “side to take,” choose your side. If things go sour, align yourself with the people who are being the least obnoxious. If your friends are so fake-woke that they can’t look for the good in others, that’s a sign. If your boyfriend is so self-absorbed that he won’t try to build bridges, that’s another.

My boyfriend is as accepting as can be and would never insult them on purpose, but I’m afraid they will distrust him if they view him as privileged.

Trust yourself and everyone involved to figure it out.

Imagine them behaving as their best selves instead of their worst, and concentrate on representing yourself in the same way.

Which side do I take if my plan goes awry and I have to choose one?

The Q is for entertainment, not counseling. Send burning Qs to mike@theQatl.com.

Whatever you do, stop trying to determine what happens in advance. Resist the urge to jump in and cheerlead each side to the other. The more real you keep it, the more at ease everyone will feel — and the more likely they are not to choke.

theQatl.com 29