Rising costs of living across the country are having significant effects on the LGBTQ+ community. Price increases have reached everything from gas to groceries – and even cocktails.
The increase in bar tabs has plagued the nightlife in various hotspots of Los Angeles’s LGBTQ+ enclave of West Hollywood (WeHo). When the space previously occupied by Gold Coast – a long-time gay dive catering to gays of a certain age – was filled by Or Bar in December, it was met with full-throated criticism from locals for charging $24 for cocktails.
But this is not an isolated event. The Abbey, arguably WeHo’s most prominent queer nightclub, has also raised the prices of its signature martinis.
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While there are many factors attributing to rising costs, such as Covid-related disruptions in supply lines and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, for The Abbey’s general manager Todd Barnes, the primary culprit is the city of West Hollywood’s recent increase in its minimum wage.
“Because of the minimum wage, starting next week, I’m actually going to be having a couple of cocktails that are at the $20 mark, which we’ve never had before,” said Barnes. “The average right now is about $18 for one of our martinis.”
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