PRIDE NIGHT
JUNE 3
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Lore brings unpretentious queer fun to Edgewood Avenue
By Katie Burkholder
Atlanta’s LGBTQ+ community has a new nightlife home. Lore, located on the border of Old Fourth Ward and Sweet Auburn, is expanding the definition of the queer club beyond drag shows and dance parties.
The venture from Wussy magazine founder Jon Dean and NonsenseATL’s Kimberly Turner and Scott Lockhart joins the ranks of queer-owned nightlife on Edgewood Avenue, including Joystick Gamebar, Sister Louisa’s Church of the Living Room & Ping Pong Emporium, and Pisces.
While the club has only been open since late March, Lore may already feel familiar to those in the LGBTQ+ nightlife scene. The Other Show, a drag show hosted by Edie Cheezburger that temporarily moved to Out Front Theatre after the closure of Midtown Moon in 2022; Amen, a drag show hosted by Taylor ALXNDR formerly held at Lore’s next-door neighbor Church; and NonsenseATL’s queer-friendly dance
parties, which were held at the now-closed Basement for more than a decade, all now call Lore home.
Along with a mammoth disco ball and two floors of party space, Lore touts friendly bar staff and an always-full calendar of “unpretentious fun.”
“The bartenders at Lore were so friendly and made excellent drinks,” Sydney Norman, an attendee of The Other Show told Georgia Voice. “We all exchanged socials by the end of the night. They really made the experience of the show even more fun (if that’s even possible).”
Lore’s busy schedule includes all the gay club mainstays – drag, karaoke, and dance parties – while also including events you wouldn’t expect to see at the club like workshops, a biweekly Bring Your Own Craft Night, and special events like Show and Tell night and an adult Easter egg hunt, many of which are free. Dean and Turner want Lore to be a place of respite for marginalized Atlantans, even those who aren’t big clubgoers. Mingle Mocktails are available for purchase alongside traditional cocktails and their rotating schedule of events often includes daytime and early evening parties.
“We want to always have fun and unexpected events for people to come to and give people a reason to leave their house and get off the apps and have a safe third place to go to,” Dean told Georgia Voice. “…I’ve always thought of nightlife and bars and clubs as
kind of a church [for queer people]. That’s where I found my community and my family. We’re hoping Lore can be a place for people to find their chosen families.”
“We want Lore to be a space where queer people and trans people, and also women, people of color, basically any marginalized group, can come and feel like they’re safe, they’re heard, they’re welcome,” Turner added. “There’s a lot of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, a lot of attacks on trans people, on women’s rights. We don’t want to ignore the world as it exists but to be able to walk into a place where no one’s judging you, you’re in a place
where you’re understood and you’re loved and you can take that heaviness and put it away for a second.”
Coming up on Lore’s eclectic event lineup? A “M3GAN 2.0” dance party, an Edgewood Avenue bar crawl benefiting Atlanta Pride, a “Twin Peaks”-themed party, “Eurovision” watch parties, and “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” watch parties hosted by contestant Nicole Paige Brooks.
Lore is located at 466 Edgewood Ave SE and open Tuesday through Sunday at 5 p.m. To keep up with their event schedule, visit loreatl.com.
‘Trick! The Musical’ to have its world premiere at Out Front
By Jim Farmer
“Trick! The Musical,” based on the 1999 film written by Jason Schafer and directed by Jim Fall, is having its world premiere on May 1-17 at Out Front Theatre Company.
“Trick” is considered a gay cult classic. The film is a romance between Gabriel (Christian Campbell), an aspiring musical theater writer, and Mark (J.P. Pitoc), a go-go dancer who is more
and
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comfortable in his body
has a more relaxed view of sex. The film also starred Tori Spelling and Coco Peru in a small role as a drag queen.
From left: Tugboat, Boudreaux, Zodi Yak, JayBella Banks, and Orchid star in The Other Show at Lore. (Photo by Katie Burkholder) Lore is a respite for Atlanta’s LGBTQ+ community. (Photo by Katie Burkholder)
JayBella Banks performs at The Other Show at Lore. (Photo by Katie Burkholder)
The cast of “Trick! The Musical” at Out Front Theatre. (Photo by Sydney Lee)
Writing my own story
I remember fussing at my mom for not being able to sit still. As an artist and a mother, Millie Pete always had a project going. So when I tried to get her to sit down and watch a television show or movie with me, it was as if I was keeping her away from obligations that were far more important. Ends up, I’m just like her.
My latest project is my memoir. I began the process two years ago, much later than my Bert Show listeners would have liked. It was when I was on Q100 that many people suggested I write about the suspenseful transplant journey I was then sharing on air. Having to get up at 3:30 a.m. and take afternoon naps to endure the daunting schedule of a morning radio host, I was far too tired to take on such a feat then.
Fast forward to 2023, when I was still working from home post-COVID and my son was not as dependent on my every move. I don’t know if it’s the
same for others in their 50s, or maybe it was the hangover of the pandemic, but I began having an acute sense of mortality.
Surprising, I’m sure, to hear that from someone with a chronic illness, but it wasn’t until these recent years that how long I have left on this Earth came to mind. So what better to do with my time and paranoia than write my story.
Being who I am, writing a story wasn’t enough. I created a publishing company so that I could learn the ropes of what it takes to write, edit, format, print, and distribute the book. I even created a YouTube channel (Whanging Dude Publishing) so people could follow the process and learn how to be a self-published author or understand everything that goes into the books they read.
to be Millie Pete’s birthday. I’m sure wherever she is she’ll appreciate her daughter’s homemade gift.
materials, I have instructions on my Linktree page (melissacarteratl) on how to request the book. And, yes, there will also be an audiobook version.
The result? A finished book that will be released on May 26, which happens
“Facing Inward” is not just the story of everything surrounding my transplant. It also describes my coming out experience, how I got to the Bert Show, and interactions with celebrities I met in my career. Georgia Voice’s own Katie Burkholder’s review can be seen on the back cover. It will be available wherever books are sold, and if you prefer a library or independent shop to find your reading
It was hard at times to learn how to get certain things accomplished, but so worth the effort. Even if no one buys the book, I’m glad Mr. Carter has a resource that will allow him to get to know his mother better, if he ever has that interest. In the meantime, I will be happy to sit and watch the latest YouTube videos with him. That is, until I figure out my next project.
Melissa Carter on The Bert Show. (Courtesy The Bert Show)
Past, present, and future: Boundary-breaking women behind the bar
By Beth McKibben
Did you know that in 1970, more than 30 states included laws prohibiting women from bartending?
Michigan, for example, prohibited women from being licensed bartenders in cities with 50,000 or more residents unless the businesses were owned by their fathers or husbands.
Bartender Valentine Goesaert challenged the Michigan law in 1948, stating that it violated her rights under the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. While the case (Goesaert v. Cleary) landed in
front of the Supreme Court, it was ultimately upheld. The decision was finally overturned in 1976.
Up until the mid-1970s, everything from wildly outdated social constructs like the chivalric codes of the Middle Ages, puritanical viewpoints on gender roles, and indecency laws were cited as reasons to keep women from bartending or even entering taverns, saloons, and other morally compromising establishments unless accompanied by a man.
At the turn of the 20th century, women in Atlanta could be prosecuted for drinking in bars unchaperoned and were often surveilled by the police.
Bars that did allow women to enter without a man featured ladies’ entrances leading to a back room away from the main bar. Ladies’ entrances existed at bars across America well into the 1970s.
More “progressive” bars of the day included snugs or tight corner spaces with a tiny table and a couple of chairs walled off on three sides to keep imbibing women safe from prying eyes.
For nearly 100 years, women weren’t permitted to drink at the famous Sazerac Bar at the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans – accompanied or not – except on Mardi
Gras. That changed on September 26, 1949, when a group of local women pushed into the men-only hotel bar demanding equal treatment and to be served drinks.
The hotel eventually caved to their demands, and the event became known as the “storming of the Sazerac.” It’s celebrated annually at the Sazerac Bar as a victory and a milestone toward women’s social equality.
Barmaid
versus Bartender
The term “bartender” was almost exclusively reserved for men. Instead, women in the same role were referred to as “barmaids,” considered a suitable title for women in a profession that many people felt walked a murky line between morality and making an honest living.
Ada Coleman, the most famous female bartender of all time – and the inventor of the classic cocktail, the Hanky Panky – stood out amongst her male colleagues for more than just her gender. Coleman was the head bartender of the famed American Bar at the Savoy Hotel in London from 1903 to 1925, leading a team of men and one other woman bartender: Ruth Burgess.
Breaking with tradition, which saw women bartenders often working behind the scenes at the service bar, Coleman and Burgess mixed their cocktails standing front and center at the main bar within full view of hotel guests.
Despite her high-ranking position at the American Bar, however, Coleman couldn’t
always escape being called a barmaid. And while she likely invented other drinks beyond the Hanky Panky, it’s the only cocktail fellow American Bar bartender Harry Craddock credits to Coleman in his “The Savoy Cocktail Book,” published in 1930.
Craddock took over as head bartender at the American Bar when Coleman left. Today, the Hanky Panky is as famous as the American Bar itself, and is recognized by the International Bartenders Association as one of the most requested cocktails of all time.
From the Stone Age to the 20th Century
Boundary breakers like Coleman and Burgess and the women of the Sazerac Bar were hardly the first of their kind.
Stone tablets dating to 4,000 BC depict women making beer in Mesopotamia. Similar archeological evidence suggests women living in ancient Egypt were doing the same.
During the Middle Ages in the Netherlands, most of society believed women were superior brewers to men. In the mid-15th century, women made up 30 percent of the brewers in London.
Martha Washington was famous for making cordials at Mount Vernon, like Cherry Bounce, a brandy-based drink made from fresh tart cherries popular in the 18th century.
As a hostess in Richmond, Virginia, Mary Randolph published “The Virginia
Tiffanie Barriere was at the forefront of Atlanta’s craft cocktail movement. (Courtesy Instagram)
Second location of iconic Busy Bee Cafe opening at Atlantic Station
By Sarra Sedghi
A second location of acclaimed Atlanta soul food restaurant The Busy Bee Cafe will open next spring at Atlantic Station.
Owner Tracy Gates made the announcement in April via social media, stating that this location will feature indoor and outdoor seating, an expanded menu, and a full bar.
Some Atlanta restaurant institutions are woven into the very fabric of the city’s history and society. Such is the case with Busy Bee Cafe, opened in 1947 by Lucy Jackson.
Founded during segregation in the South, and famous for its fried chicken, the Busy Bee has been a cultural touchstone in Atlanta for nearly 80 years, patronized by everyone from Civil Rights leaders Martin Luther King, Jr., John Lewis, and Hosea Williams to modern politicians and popular figures like former president Barack Obama and Senator Bernie Sanders, hip-hop duo Big Boi and André 3000 of Outkast, and Oprah Winfrey. Winfrey raved about the restaurant’s catfish.
In 1983, Tracy Gates’ father, Milton, purchased the restaurant bordering Vine City and Atlanta University Center. Gates began her tenure leading Busy Bee and its kitchen five years later. When she took over the restaurant from her father, Hosea Williams gave her one piece of advice: “If you keep this food consistent, people will come.”
It’s not just the style of food, but Gates’
commitment as caretaker of the culinary legacy left behind by Jackson and her father, and truly knowing the ingredients and recipes that continue to keep Busy Bee Cafe in business.
Then, of course, there are the accolades. In 2022, Busy Bee Cafe won an American Classics award from the James Beard Foundation. In 2023 and 2024, Michelin named the soul food restaurant a Bib Gourmand. And Gates was inducted into the Georgia Hospitality Hall of Fame two
years ago.
Gates said the Atlantic Station location is a “win-win,” as its current location resides in a well-established neighborhood near downtown Atlanta, and the second location will become part of another well-established area, sandwiched between neighborhoods to the west along Howell Mill Road and Midtown to the east.
Opening at Atlantic Station, Gates said, provides an opportunity for Busy Bee Cafe’s business to grow and have a broader reach.
“Atlanta has become this tourist town because every weekend there’s something going on and visitors are here,” Gates said. “So the opportunity to be in that particular space with that same dynamic … allows me to continue the growth of Busy Bee beyond just a sit-down restaurant because the demand is there.”
In return, Atlantic Station gets to bulk up its dining scene with an award-winning restaurant. Busy Bee Cafe marks the sprawling, 20-year-old retail and residential development’s first James Beard and Michelin-recognized restaurant.
“The way that it fits into the patchwork quilt of Atlantic Station is really, really ideal,” said Nick Garzia, senior director of Southeast retail for Hines, the company that owns Atlantic Station. “It’s a menu type and a cuisine type that we don’t have in the center, so it’s not stepping on anybody else’s toes.”
Garzia added that Busy Bee Cafe’s food and accolades speak for themselves, while its
history brings a tremendous draw.
“[Hines has been] involved in Atlantic Station for a decade now,” Garzia said. “The success that we’ve had … makes it an easier argument to court operators of the caliber of Tracy and be able to make the case that James Beard, Michelin award-winning restaurants can do business here and that there’s an appeal here.”
The new location, unlike the restaurant on M.L.K. Jr. Drive to the west, will feature dine-in service, a patio, and a full bar. (While the original Busy Bee adopted a takeout-only model in 2020, Gates added picnic tables outside the restaurant for seating during warmer months.) Service style has yet to be determined for Atlantic Station, but Gates said this location will serve an expanded food menu to include lighter dishes and more seafood.
For those wondering about the planned location on Trinity Avenue in South Downtown, announced in 2018, Gates ultimately decided against opening there. It wasn’t the right place or time for Busy Bee Cafe, so Gates moved on to looking elsewhere. She’s been in talks with Atlantic Station and its partners for a year.
Gates likes the potential she’s seeing for the future of Busy Bee Cafe at Atlantic Station.
“Everybody’s excited about it [and we’re] able to spread [our] wings,” she said. “Being in a location like that, our customers will enjoy it because they’ve expressed great interest in the fact that we’re moving there.”
Atlantic Station’s Nick Garzia and Busy Bee owner Tracy Gates. (Provided by Atlantic Station)
