Talk To Us Like We're Four
The Lipstick Lounge is celebrating its Fourth Anniversary in business tonight.
Officially, we opened on September 6, 2002. But this is close enough. We should still be solvent come Wednesday, so we hope it doesn't seem too premature.
It has been a very interesting ride. For those of you who don't know, Jonda had this vision of a place she could hang out with her friends. Traci was her cohort in the dream. They did a squeeze play and got Ronda to jump on board, and with another partner, the Lipstick Lounge opened.
It wasn't exactly the same in the beginning. A beautiful bar... very elegant... with a dress code and a velvet rope at the door. Servers in tuxedo shirts. Scary muscle-bound lady bouncers. A torchy jazz singer on Friday nights. Fine Dominican cigars. An extensive wine list. Cheesecake. Nine-dollar martinis. Not a man in sight. It was cool, but it wasn't fun.
And it wasn't making much money. And tensions were high. Problem was, Jonda and company didn't so much know about the rigors of the bar business. They were undercapitalized, having secured no financing except maxing out credit cards. They had an Upper East Side Manhattan bar in gritty East Nashville. They hadn't counted on the incredible toll taxes would take. And then, when the newness wore off, their very good friends stopped coming in every single night. And things got lean.
Thankfully, our best cocktail waitress was this hottie that was hired from Chili's in Cool Springs. She was also a budding real-estate mogul. When the original partnership fell apart, that server, Christa, came to the rescue by buying the building from its previous owner, and buying a stake in the business. In hindsight, that was the real turning point.
Christa streamlined operations, shook up the staff, and put processes into place. Ronda thought: karaoke is hot, let's go find a beautiful, talented hostess and start doing karaoke through the week. And so, Debra Christian joined the Lipstick family. Then, this hot-shot PR/marketing consultant (ahem, I'm for hire) began helping the girls out with ads that were catchy and creating some buzz.
The Lipstick Ladies began a conerted effort to reposition the bar into one that was more neighborhood-friendly, and would attract not only lesbians, but gay men and straight folks as well. We downscaled a little. Revamped the menu from pastas and fancy soups to finger foods, burgers and salads. Jazzmyn, our very talented entertainer, sought greener pastures, and so Ronda and Jonda called their friend Teri Reid from the Ronnie Milsap touring days, and proposed putting the band back together. And our legendary Friday nights were born.
Soon, karaoke was all the rage, and in a town full of singers, we showed ourselves as the place to beat, with a house full of talent nearly every night. And people coming to karaoke just to listen. Our oxygen bar continues to be an asset no one else can claim, and we have picked up a great crowd of regulars who show up every week to our early evening activities like Trivia and Poker.
And we have a really great staff, headed by sweet, lovable Crystal, who is Christa's operational right-hand, and recently promoted to House Manager. The lovely and talented Cathey Stamps put together our Sunday night show, and soon, we were open seven nights a week. We can claim to be the only GLBT-oriented bar in the city with regular live music. Others are now getting into the act, which can only be good for our community-- there's enough love to go around.
Speaking of other bars, they took notice. While Church Street grows more and more vibrant and crowded with interesting hangouts, we've quietly built a home in East Nashville, and their staffs come party with us on their days off. That says something.
And because we are still learning as we go along, there have been failed experiments and errors in judgment too. Like our attempts to build a lunch business with very little passing traffic. Sunday Gospel Brunch with musicians who couldn't play until after church. Naughty Bingo with dirty talk and folks getting us in trouble by taking their clothes off. Announcing an expansion in October 2003 that still hasn't happened yet.
And the changes have not come without criticism. Some of our lesbian sisters have complained there are too many men. When more heterosexual couples started coming in, some of our gay clientele began getting bitchy and territorial. And our answer remained the same: We're only human. That's all we've ever claimed to be, and that's who we've built this bar for: humans. We've made a place where people of every race, gender identity, sexual orientation, social class, educational status, political persuasion, size and nationality can feel not tolerated, or accepted, but welcome. And that, we are very proud of.
The GLBT bar scene is changing rapidly, and now, at four years old, Lipstick is already a legend. We hope to serve you all for many years to come. Know that we love each and every one of you, value you as customers and friends, but moreover as family. It's our patrons we do this for. We love that you all have so many fond memories and great stories to tell about the times you have had here, and we hope you continue making those good times happen within our walls for many, many years to come.
Tonight, it will be slammed, hot, and crowded. Wear deodorant, be patient, and come hang out with us!
Vive le Lip!
Tom
Officially, we opened on September 6, 2002. But this is close enough. We should still be solvent come Wednesday, so we hope it doesn't seem too premature.
It has been a very interesting ride. For those of you who don't know, Jonda had this vision of a place she could hang out with her friends. Traci was her cohort in the dream. They did a squeeze play and got Ronda to jump on board, and with another partner, the Lipstick Lounge opened.
It wasn't exactly the same in the beginning. A beautiful bar... very elegant... with a dress code and a velvet rope at the door. Servers in tuxedo shirts. Scary muscle-bound lady bouncers. A torchy jazz singer on Friday nights. Fine Dominican cigars. An extensive wine list. Cheesecake. Nine-dollar martinis. Not a man in sight. It was cool, but it wasn't fun.
And it wasn't making much money. And tensions were high. Problem was, Jonda and company didn't so much know about the rigors of the bar business. They were undercapitalized, having secured no financing except maxing out credit cards. They had an Upper East Side Manhattan bar in gritty East Nashville. They hadn't counted on the incredible toll taxes would take. And then, when the newness wore off, their very good friends stopped coming in every single night. And things got lean.
Thankfully, our best cocktail waitress was this hottie that was hired from Chili's in Cool Springs. She was also a budding real-estate mogul. When the original partnership fell apart, that server, Christa, came to the rescue by buying the building from its previous owner, and buying a stake in the business. In hindsight, that was the real turning point.
Christa streamlined operations, shook up the staff, and put processes into place. Ronda thought: karaoke is hot, let's go find a beautiful, talented hostess and start doing karaoke through the week. And so, Debra Christian joined the Lipstick family. Then, this hot-shot PR/marketing consultant (ahem, I'm for hire) began helping the girls out with ads that were catchy and creating some buzz.
The Lipstick Ladies began a conerted effort to reposition the bar into one that was more neighborhood-friendly, and would attract not only lesbians, but gay men and straight folks as well. We downscaled a little. Revamped the menu from pastas and fancy soups to finger foods, burgers and salads. Jazzmyn, our very talented entertainer, sought greener pastures, and so Ronda and Jonda called their friend Teri Reid from the Ronnie Milsap touring days, and proposed putting the band back together. And our legendary Friday nights were born.
Soon, karaoke was all the rage, and in a town full of singers, we showed ourselves as the place to beat, with a house full of talent nearly every night. And people coming to karaoke just to listen. Our oxygen bar continues to be an asset no one else can claim, and we have picked up a great crowd of regulars who show up every week to our early evening activities like Trivia and Poker.
And we have a really great staff, headed by sweet, lovable Crystal, who is Christa's operational right-hand, and recently promoted to House Manager. The lovely and talented Cathey Stamps put together our Sunday night show, and soon, we were open seven nights a week. We can claim to be the only GLBT-oriented bar in the city with regular live music. Others are now getting into the act, which can only be good for our community-- there's enough love to go around.
Speaking of other bars, they took notice. While Church Street grows more and more vibrant and crowded with interesting hangouts, we've quietly built a home in East Nashville, and their staffs come party with us on their days off. That says something.
And because we are still learning as we go along, there have been failed experiments and errors in judgment too. Like our attempts to build a lunch business with very little passing traffic. Sunday Gospel Brunch with musicians who couldn't play until after church. Naughty Bingo with dirty talk and folks getting us in trouble by taking their clothes off. Announcing an expansion in October 2003 that still hasn't happened yet.
And the changes have not come without criticism. Some of our lesbian sisters have complained there are too many men. When more heterosexual couples started coming in, some of our gay clientele began getting bitchy and territorial. And our answer remained the same: We're only human. That's all we've ever claimed to be, and that's who we've built this bar for: humans. We've made a place where people of every race, gender identity, sexual orientation, social class, educational status, political persuasion, size and nationality can feel not tolerated, or accepted, but welcome. And that, we are very proud of.
The GLBT bar scene is changing rapidly, and now, at four years old, Lipstick is already a legend. We hope to serve you all for many years to come. Know that we love each and every one of you, value you as customers and friends, but moreover as family. It's our patrons we do this for. We love that you all have so many fond memories and great stories to tell about the times you have had here, and we hope you continue making those good times happen within our walls for many, many years to come.
Tonight, it will be slammed, hot, and crowded. Wear deodorant, be patient, and come hang out with us!
Vive le Lip!
Tom
posted by Thomas Horton at 11:07 AM
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