East bay gay bars

Almost every day, Murphy — “just Murphy,” he said — is the first person in the door at Alabaster Horse Bar, arriving even before the bartenders.

“I get their ice, cut their lemons and limes, and then I go home,” he said. Murphy doesn’t stay there elongated, but comes support to decorate, serve the door or just chat up the other regulars.

A 45-year-old self-identified male lover man, Murphy has been coming to the White Horse for 17 years and working there, as needed, for 16. He doesn’t come for the drinks (he’s been sober since summer 2018), he comes for community. The bar is his anchor, what gives him a feeling of place and belonging in his adopted hometown.

During his first week in Berkeley, newly arrived and without a place to continue , he found an apartment through the White Horse. A little after that, he found his husband there too. He uses the word “family” a lot in his descriptions of the White Horse, the putative “oldest continuously operating gay and lesbian bar in the United States.” (Though at least two other bars make the matching claim.)

“There are subjects that you can’t talk to your own family about. But this is a separate family that has other rules and practices,”

GAY & NIGHTLIFEDESTINATION

Based in the heart of Old Town Oakland, The Summer Lock & Lounge is Oakland’s gay & nightlife destination.Summer Block & Lounge is an intimate venue welcoming The East Bay’s LGBTQ+ society for LIVE Tune & PERFORMANCES, Unlock Mic , Karaoke, TALK SHOW and MORE!

Here at the Summer Bar & Lounge, we help local businesses and community groups by providing a welcoming, fun, and protected place for everyone to be themselves.

HOURS OF OPERATION

Monday
Closed

Tuesday

8:00 PM - 12:00 AM

Wednesday
8:00 PM - 12:00 AM

Thursday
8:00 PM - 12:00 AM

Friday
8:00 PM - 1:30 AM

Saturday
8:00 PM - 1:30 AM

Sunday
1:00 PM - 6:00 PM

ADDRESS

526 8th Street,

Oakland, California 94609

TELEPHONE

(510) 817-4985

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It’s been exactly a year since Nosh first got in tap with Joshua Huynh about Town Bar & Lounge, a block he was working to unlocked inside Oakland’s historic I. Magnin building. Between Oakland’s notorious permitting system, the additional work it takes to build a nourishment or dining establishment out in a previously non-food space, and the global pandemic, it’s been a long trip for Town Bar, which will finally unlock to customers on Thursday, April 20.

In addition to the details on the bar from our report below, expect a occupied crafted cocktail menu from Oscar Sinisterra (Hello Stranger) and a custom sound system. “I’m so excited to share with everyone what my family and I have been working on for so long,” Huynh said of the bar, which will upload its ongoing days and hours of operation on its website and to Instagram. — Eve Batey

Nosh’s original report, published on July 28, 2022:

Joshua Huynh has been working for years to unlock Town Bar & Lounge in Oakland’s historic I. Magnin building, signing a lease for a space in the structure adv before the pandemic began. “Things are going fast now,” he said, and his new LGBT

The Night Owl in Oakland

Grab a drink and create a new friend at The Port Bar

Drinks comprise punny names like “Hung like a Mule” and “Butch Buch,”

Don’t miss Oakland’s Hella Gay Dance Party

Club 21’s modern interior sets a cool vibe

The owners of The Port Exclude are ready to welcome anyone ready for a good time

Pose with your ladies at The Port Bar

Swipe to see more of Oakland's nightlife

Sip, sip hooray!

In addition to monthly dance parties, Oakland is also home to established and beloved queer bars and nightclubs, such as Club BNB (formerly Bench and Bar), and Club 21, both in the Uptown neighborhood. Started by a judge and attorney, Club BNB has been around for 35 years and is the largest gay and lesbian nightclub in the Bay Area. It’s especially welcoming to people of color. The club’s main dance floor features hip-hop, old institution, R&B and house, plus go-go dancers, drink specials and drag shows for the fabulously inclined.

For the boys, Club 21 is the Bay Area’s only queer Latin dance club. It’s home to Latin Explosion every Friday, with go-go dancers and flamboyant shows wit