Provincetown hasn't had a lesbian bar since 2018, but now, one is slated to open next spring.
The Provincetown Independent's Pat Kearns went to a pop-up of the bar, called Josephine's, recently.
CAI's Gilda Geist spoke with him to learn more.
Gilda Geist You went to Josephine's recently, which was open for Provincetown's Women's Week. Can you tell me what it was like?
Pat Kearns Yeah, Josephine's was open on a pop-up basis for, like, 12 nights this summer. I went at the end of Women's Week. The owners of the space decided to open it up for events that weekend, and then like it turned into a bar at night because it's kind of a mixed-use space. They were doing readings and there was some stand-up comedy during the day. And then at night it turned into a bar and it really did get busy. K. T. Fitzgerald was DJing. It was a great vibe. People were dancing, but people were also talking. And there were a mix of locals and people who drove in from north of Boston. I think a lot of people are excited about it and have been waiting for a space like this to open up. I mentioned a few of those people in the article, such as Tracy Elwell, who works at Baedega, which is also lesbian-owned. And then there were people from out of town. I found a couple, Kate and Julie McGondel, who own a lesbian dating [site] called Willow Dating.
GG Going back for a moment, how did Josephine's get started and who runs the bar and owns the space?
PK The building is owned by Summer of Sass, which is an organization that is already in town, and they bought the space so that the business could have sort of a steady revenue. There's also housing above it for their summer employees that come to town. But Josephine's itself hasn't officially opened. Right now it's running on a pop-up basis. It has three owners. So it's K. T. Fitzgerald, who DJed that night, and then comedian Kristen Becker, along with Chef Kelly Fields. So, they're really set to open up in the spring and they're 100% going to open up. It'll be a full venue. It's going be a mixed-use space. So, it's not going be sort of like a watering hole where people just strictly come to drink. It's going be a bar and a club at night, and then a space during the day where they're going to do brunches. It's 2,000 square feet of space, so it's large in there. Some people are going to be familiar with the space because it's the former Waydowntown, which has been sitting empty for two years across from Town Hall. And people have been kind of walking by like, what happened to this bar? Because it was owned by Jeri Boccio, who sadly passed away this summer. I think Jeri closed it down two years ago, so it's been sitting empty. The owner didn't find someone to fill the space and then up selling the building to Summer of Sass, which is going to lease the downstairs to Josephine's.
GG There are less than 40 lesbian bars left in the United States, and for most of the past decade, Provincetown hasn't had one at all, despite its reputation as an LGBT-friendly place. From your reporting, what's your understanding of why a place like Provincetown, has gone so long without a permanent lesbian bar.
PK Yeah, in Provincetown, Ace of Spades was the first lesbian bar—or women's bar technically—that opened in town in 1950. It was actually a straight owner. People sat on barrels, and there was a ton of pushback at the time from the select board. They tried to shut the bar down, but locals really wrote into the Provincetown Advocate to defend the bar, and then eventually it did reopen. That is the same space that eventually turned into [now-closed lesbian bar] Pied, so it's right on the water on 193 Commercial Street. [Actress] Lea DeLaria actually ended up buying that space, opening it as The Club more recently. So there have been like, iterations more recently of more queer spaces and lesbian bars. Historically, these drinking establishments in Provincetown have been owned by men for the most part, whether that has to do with women having trouble getting business licenses or just the distribution of capital being unequal. I think the question's a little bit too big for any one person to answer. You know, I talked to Kristen Becker, and we didn't have like a sure answer of why there wasn't a lesbian bar in the last six years. Of course, there have been little pop-ups that she and Katie have opened up at the former Provincetown Brewery. But it's also hard. I mean, it's expensive to open a bar right now in town. So luckily, they were able to do that here.
