Dani's Queer Bar
{{Infobox restaurant
| embed =
| name = Dani's Queer Bar
| title =
| established = 2024
| street-address = 907 Boylston Street,
Boston, Massachusetts
| postcode = 02115
| country = United States
| coordinates =
| website = {{URL|danisqueerbar.com}}
}}
Dani's Queer Bar is a lesbian bar founded in 2024, in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S..
Background
The number of lesbian bars declined across the United States from a high of around 200 in the 1980s to approximately 16 by early 2020, and Boston did not have a lesbian bar.{{Cite web |last=Rudy |first=Ellie |date=2024-10-04 |title=Dani’s Queer Bar opens in Boston, giving Beantown its first lesbian bar in decades |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-life-and-style/danis-queer-bar-boston-lesbian-rcna173724 |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=NBC News |language=en}}{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Lesbian bars are disappearing nationwide, but there are signs of life in Mass. |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/09/25/arts/danis-queer-bar-boston-lesbian-bar/?p1=Article_Inline_Text_Link |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=Boston Globe |language=en-US}} In the first half of the 2020s, more than a dozen new bars geared toward queer women opened across the country. In August of 2023 Boston Mayor Michelle Wu created a grants program, Supporting Pandemic Affected Community Enterprises (SPACE), to distribute American Rescue Plan funding.{{Cite web |date=2023-07-26 |title=Mayor Wu announces SPACE grant awardees, introducing new local businesses to Downtown storefronts {{!}} Boston.gov |url=https://www.boston.gov/news/mayor-wu-announces-space-grant-awardees-introducing-new-local-businesses-downtown-storefronts |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=www.boston.gov |language=en}}
History
Owner Thais Rocha had been holding popup events for queer women and in March of 2022 started fundraising to open a permanent space.{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Becca |date=2024-09-16 |title=The Only Lesbian Bar In Boston Is Officially Open |url=https://gomag.com/article/the-only-lesbian-bar-in-boston-is-officially-open/ |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=GO |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Carson-Holt |first=Elsie |date=2024-09-15 |title=Boston finally gets its own lesbian bar |url=https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2024/09/boston-finally-gets-its-own-lesbian-bar/ |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=LGBTQ Nation |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Gonzales |first=Morgan |date=2023-03-09 |title=Crowd-Funded Queer Bar Heads To Former Pour House Space In Boston |url=https://dailyvoice.com/ma/dorchester/business/crowd-funded-queer-bar-heads-to-former-pour-house-space-in-boston/858538/ |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=Dorchester Daily Voice |language=en}} In 2023 the business was a recipient of one of the city's first SPACE grants.{{Cite web |last=Solis |first=Steph |date=2024-09-12 |title=Dani's Queer Bar, Boston's first femme bar in decades, opens |url=https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2024/09/12/danis-queer-bar-boston-opens |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=Axios |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Jacob |first=Arushi |date=12 September 2024 |title=Dani’s Queer Bar debuts, marking city’s first lesbian bar to open in a decade - The Boston Globe |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/09/12/arts/danis-queer-bar-opens-back-bay/ |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=Boston Globe |language=en-US}} The bar was originally planned to open in 2023 but was pushed back by permitting and inspections delays.{{Cite web |last=Edwards |first=Tanya |date=2024-09-19 |title=Boston’s First Femme Bar in Decades, Dani’s Queer Bar, Has Opened |url=https://boston.eater.com/2024/9/19/24249001/danis-queer-bar-boston-opening |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=Eater Boston |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Armany |first=Rachel |date=2024-09-13 |title=Dani's grand opening gives Boston its first lesbian bar in years |url=https://www.wgbh.org/news/local/2024-09-13/danis-grand-opening-gives-boston-its-first-lesbian-bar-in-years |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=WGBH-TV |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Haefeli |first=Laura |date=2024-06-13 |title=Boston pub hit with backlash after raising Pride flag in solidarity with LGBTQ bar |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/boston-pride-flag-okeefes-lgbtq-backlash/ |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=CBS |language=en-US}} When an Irish bar in the space next door offered to help by hosting a Pride Day party in June of 2024, it received online backlash in the form of one-star reviews.{{Cite web |last=Edwards |first=Tanya |date=2024-06-10 |title=Back Bay Irish Bar Faces Backlash After Hosting Pride Party in Support of Neighboring Queer Bar |url=https://boston.eater.com/2024/6/10/24175649/irish-bar-at-o-keeffes-danis-queer-bar-pride-backlash |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=Eater Boston |language=en}}
It opened in September of 2024 on Boylston Street in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood; the former tenant, also a bar, had closed in 2020 due to the pandemic.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2024-09-12 |title=Dani's Queer Bar opens in former Pour House location in Boston's Back Bay |url=https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/danis-queer-bar-opens-in-former-pour-house-location-in-bostons-back-bay/3486530/ |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=NBC Boston |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Cifarelli |first=David |date=2024-09-12 |title=Boston queer bar dedicated to non-binary LGBTQ+ members makes debut |url=https://www.masslive.com/boston/2024/09/boston-queer-bar-dedicated-to-non-binary-lgbtq-members-makes-debut.html |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=MassLive |language=en}}