Courtesy of Akbar
Iconic Silver Lake queer bar Akbar has been inundated with donations in the past 24 hours, raising over $150,000 from more than 2,500 donors. Each dollar is aimed at keeping the historic spot alive into 2021 and beyond, thus preserving one of LA’s queer bar icons for years to come.
What’s even more amazing: Akbar’s fundraising page wasn’t even supposed to happen yet.
Late last week, co-owner Peter Alexander quietly posted the $150,000 fundraiser on popular crowdfunding site GoFundMe, hoping to save his 24-year-old Silver Lake bar from closing forever as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. He and co-owner Scott Craig quietly set up the page and hoped to begin raising funds on Wednesday, December 16, with a push on social media and everything. Both patiently waited for the designated start date, not realizing the fundraiser web page remained public.