Church Street Bars/Clubs/Restos

[JasonParis]

Barn gets its groove back
By JAMES DUBRO

After more than two years stuck in legal limbo, legendary Church Street gay hangout the Barn may at last be reopening.

According to Tom Ricketts, executor of the estate of former owner Janko Naglic, both the business and the building have been sold in a deal that is due to be finalized very soon.

The identity of the new owners is a secret, at least for now. Don Mulholland, the real estate broker who engineered the deal, will only say they are two gay entrepreneurs "with a proven track record in gay enterprises."

But they do not yet want to be named while they sort out details and work with Councillor Kyle Rae and his staff to address past noise concerns of the McGill/Granby Village Residents' Association that may get in the way of liquor licence renewal.

In the nearly 30 years he owned the Barn, Naglic had a lot of problems with the police regarding alleged liquor licence infractions, mostly involving overcrowding and nude dances run by Totally Naked Toronto, better know as TNT Men. TNT Men now holds its dances at the Alibi bar on Yonge Street.

Mulholland says the Barn could reopen as early as this fall, once major structural problems between the first and second floors revealed two years ago after a small renovation and fire damage are repaired.

A lively and popular Facebook site with postings from more than 200 former Barn habitués has been full of speculation about reopening. It's not a rumour any more.

news@nowtoronto.com

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More info at this Facebook group:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=4583559099

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Personally I hope the "new" Barn is two things...

1. Structurally safe
2. Your classic dirty gay bar

 

[AndreaPalladio]

I hope they're not going to get rid of the smell of sweat and poppers that was the trademark of the place.

 

[Urban Shocker]

When I came out in the early '70's ( nineteen seventies ), the downstairs was called The Cavaliers - a somewhat piss-elegant hangout ( with a piano! ) where older gentlemen took their much younger protegees for a jolly night of loud, avuncular bonhomie and slurred Judy Garland hits.

 

[MajorComplainer]

I hope they're not going to get rid of the smell of sweat and poppers that was the trademark of the place.

I thought the smoke was?

 

[AndreaPalladio]

No, that was always the fear that was part of the fun of the place: that a fire would start and you'd never get out. Like in Faggots.

I wonder if they'd reinstall the Jodie Foster Memorial Pool Table?

 

[RJR123]

Will they res-erect the underwear parties, do ya think?

 

[JasonParis]

I think the undies parties have migrated to Alibi, but there's no reason they couldn't migrate back.

 

[299 bloor call control.]

I passed by the other night and saw the sold stickers all over the for sale sign on the building and got a little excited... a little too excited... I miss that place... well, not so much the reincarnation that opened after Janko passed away.. they tried to "class" it up (albeit with tacky coloured fabric hanging from the ceilings... perhaps to hide the structural damage)... when the Barn is supposed to be great for a sleazy night out.

 

[Urban Shocker]

Thank God smoky bars are a thing of the past.

 

[Dan416]

Nowadays it's easy to forget how disgusting smoke-filled bars and clubs were. But being reminded of it brings back bad memories of smelling like smoke when going home from 5ive.

 

[adma]

Why even bother reopening the Barn? Look at the place.

It's a shabby, nondescript late Victorian eyesore with an awful paintjob and signage--and if you think the outside is bad, imagine what's inside. Surely, a sleek point tower would be better than this useless crap.
And so what if youse had a good fun time there. The AIDS epidemic was born in joints like this. Is *that* what you wanna celebrate? Your own suicide? Ick. That isn't worth celebrating. Disgusting stuff happened here; only a truly depraved, self-serving narcissist would want to keep that going. And the architecture has no overriding value, either; except for your own sentimentalist egos.

Get rid of the blight. Fast. If you wanna save something that kicks the Barn's ass, how about that rack house at the Distillery District...

[sarcasm throughout, of course--except maybe the last sentence...]

 

[299 bloor call control.]

the sole fact that that property has one of the two outstanding club licenses (5ive is the other) in the Village area makes it worth reopening -- people give so many reasons why the Village has gone downhill... and they keep on talking about the younger folk leaving it... and clubs are a big reason for that.

 

[Urban Shocker]

adma: Why not call Clewes and ask him to design a steambath for Rack House 'M' then?

 

[JasonParis]

the sole fact that that property has one of the two outstanding club licenses (5ive is the other) in the Village area makes it worth reopening

Babylon's space would still have an outstanding licnese as well (I'd assume).

 

[RJR123]

the sole fact that that property has one of the two outstanding club licenses (5ive is the other) in the Village area makes it worth reopening -- people give so many reasons why the Village has gone downhill... and they keep on talking about the younger folk leaving it... and clubs are a big reason for that.

Part of the reason why the village is not as popular as it once was is because there are many gay and gay-friendly nights spread out across the city now, particularly in the west end (ex. Big Primpin', Ciao Edie, etc.). People no longer need to exclusively head out to Church St if they want to be around gay people, so the scene is not as concentrated in one area any longer. This is a very good thing, but we definitely still need a critical mass in the village as well to keep it alive.