Gay Old Time: The rise and fall of Laguna Beach’s gay clubs

[Machiavelli]

Jodie Tillman and Leonard Ortiz
Orange County Register
January 11, 2018

It was bingo night at Main Street Bar & Cabaret, Laguna Beach’s last gay club. Techno music chugged; strobe lights blinked. The game’s caller – a redhead drag queen named Endora – fussed softly over the prizes, like an ikebana master arranging her flowers. But half an hour past the scheduled start time, patrons had yet to arrive. Endora sat at the bar and ordered a cocktail.

In walked Craig Cooley, the bar manager for more than a year. “Where is everybody?” he asked, collapsing on a stool next to Endora. As usual, he seemed out of breath. Little wonder.

Gay bars around the nation have been disappearing, a trend attributed to greater social acceptance of gays, changing economic forces and evolving technology. Laguna Beach, in particular, has had many obituaries written for its once-thriving gay scene. Iconic establishments closed. Skyrocketing real estate prices have kept young gays out of the city and led a number of established gay residents to cash out and move to other cities, such as Palm Springs.

Against such odds, Cooley has made it his mission to revive this tiny dive bar off Coast Highway. He removed the privacy blinds on the windows. Pulled up the carpet coated in decades of spilled drinks. Installed a new sound system. Brought back dancing, karaoke and drag queen bingo nights.

All that hustling to breathe life into Main Street may have been the easy part. Now Cooley has to see whether these improvements will pay off – whether gays still want a place to call their own. Whether a tiny gay bar in Laguna Beach can still thrive.

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