The corner of 14th and U streets, Northwest, is now home to six LGBTQ bars, with just over 300 feet separating the nightlife options. The spots have all opened their doors over the past few years, bringing dramatic changes to a corner long associated with the District’s bar scene. The recent wave began with 2023’s opening of Bunker, a dance-focused space run by Zach Renovátes. He also operates a nearby bar, the District Eagle, that bills itself as “a home for DC’s kink communities.” Just around the corner is another recent addition to the U Street corridor’s nightlife scene, Crush Dance Bar, and there’s also Revolt, Rush, and Spark Social House. Can the area sustain so many establishments chasing the same customer base? Each place “has their own demographic and reach,” says Stephen Rutgers, co-owner of Crush. “We all sort of have our own feel, our own niche. More than 10 percent of DC’s population identifies as LGBTQ. There’s enough business to go around for everybody.” And yet some locals say they feel excluded by this new bar cluster—and by the city’s LGBTQ nightlife scene in general. DC currently only has one Black-owned LGBTQ bar, Thurst Lounge, which is a couple blocks away. The six spots at 14th and U, on the other hand, can feel pretty homogeneous. “I love seeing queer-owned businesses, but I would be remiss if we didn’t realize who is being overrepresented here,” says Jo Vee, a local influencer who, on TikTok, has criticized the lack of diversity in these new bar options. It’s also worth noting that a number of these establishments have replaced older bars that predominantly catered to Black patrons. Crush used to be Marvin, Bunker was Tropicalia, and Rush was previously Lost Society. “When no major queer nightlife venues are Black-owned, it does mean that Black people have no controlling stake in the environments that we help build,” says Preston Mitchum, an attorney and activist who runs a social-impact firm that advocates for Black and LGBTQ people. The operators of the new bars we talked to say they’re hoping to make everybody feel welcome. But Mitchum is somewhat skeptical. “ ‘Feeling welcome’ doesn’t just happen on its own, and it isn’t a one-size-fits-all experience,” he says. “When bars say they want everyone to feel welcome without naming intentional practices, accountability, or sustained commitment, it can feel disingenuous. That said, there is still room for these owners to do the work: to listen, to partner with the communities they say they want to welcome, and to build spaces where inclusion is real, not just aspirational.” Related “Queering the District” Captures the History of DC’s LGBTQ Bars This article appears in the February 2026 issue of Washingtonian.The post Why One Street Corner Now Rules DC’s LGBTQ Bar Scene first appeared on Washingtonian. ...read more read less