The plight of queer bars in Toronto during COVID-19
The plight of queer bars in Toronto during COVID-19
With so few queer spaces left in the city, these bars have been forced to close after facing astronomical rent and growing debt By Julia Mastroianni
Michael Nedelko
Former The Beaver employee, satanic sex clown Pickles Lavey, photographed within the bar after it officially closed.
When the pandemic hit in March, Adam Cowan, co-manager of Toronto queer bar The Beaver, says the decision to shut down was pretty inevitable and immediate.
“It was already a labour of love more than something profitable and we knew it would turn into a money pit at that point,” he says.