“One of the things is we try to feature African American owned alcohol, as well as women owned or queer owned,” Barnes said.Īnd when this dynamic duo are not behind the bar and catching up with customers, Barnes is a legal counsel while Riddle is an auditor. “We’re excited about being in this position, and we don’t take it lightly and everyday we’re trying to do better because we are new to this business,” Riddle said.Įven the products they serve consider the community. The film reports that since the '80s about 200 lesbian bars have shut down and about 21 queer spaces are still hanging on. “ The Lesbian Bar Project,” is a short film that showcases the decline of women queer owned bars. Now the lounge is giving women a place to come together as hundreds of lesbian bars have closed down across the county. Even if your considered an outsider or even if people say you can’t do something just go boldly forth and kind of be who you want to be… and it felt like that’s us,” Barnes said. “The poem is about being authentic and not being afraid to follow your own path. The poem “Be Nobody’s Darling,” by Alice Walker spoke out to her. So, I wanted to open my own bar and have that same energy and passion and give it other people,” Riddle said.Īs for the Bar’s name “Nobody’s Darling,” Barnes got inspiration from her collection of poetry. When I have a good cocktail, it’s like biting into a juicy steak. Longtime friends, Riddle and Barnes got together to take over the space and say they’re focused on inclusivity and a good craft cocktail. The neighborhood bar on the corner Balmoral and Ravenswood used to be Joie De Vine, a lesbian wine bar that closed during the pandemic. I think we knew that queer women would be like ‘this is awesome,’ but we’ve had such great response from straight people in the neighborhood, the trans community, gay men I mean it’s really been kind off this amazing space for people to come together and have mutual respect for each other,” said co-owner Angela Barnes. “I don’t think we quite anticipated the response.