Rumours Lounge & Cabaret, a queer-friendly and queer-owned bar on Lower Water Street, is at risk of going under according to its ownership.
In a letter posted to social media on Aug 31, owners Gerald McCowan and José Chiu told their patrons that they need help to ensure Rumours has a future.
“We’re not announcing that Rumours is closing,” reads the letter. “We’re asking for your help to make sure we never have to make that announcement.”
Rumours opened during the summer of 2024 and has since become one of a few havens for 2SLGBTQIA+ nightlife. It takes its name from the historic Rumours Club, a community-owned gay bar that opened on Granville Street in 1982 that later moved to Gottingen Street in 1987. It evolved from the closure of The Turret in 1976. The original Rumours closed its doors for good in January 1995.
Now it’s possible that this new Rumours may be forced to shut down.
Rumours’ management says they have two months to secure a new two-year lease and ensure the club is financial stable. They also deliver some numbers on their baseline costs, which they say are around $18,000 every month, $216,000 a year and $432,000 over two years.
Breaking that down further, they say this cost comes from $12,000 of monthly basic rent, $1,400 of additional rent, $1,200 of electricity, $800 for water and insurance costs of $2,600. This is all before taxes, payroll, security, inventory and entertainment.
“We’re putting these numbers here because if we’re going to ask our community for help, we believe you deserve complete honesty about why we’re asking,” the letter reads.
As McCowan told Wayves Magazine back before the bar had officially launched, he had experienced discrimination in the military for being gay. He used his settlement from Veteran Affairs to invest into Rumours, telling Wayves, “Frankly, this city is a little scary sometimes. We need a space that is our space.”
The letter also explains that McCowan does not take home wages from Rumours, while his husband Chiu gets paid for only 20 hours a week of the 40 he works and only at minimum wage. It also delves into the medical emergencies and personal matters that have further complicated their ability to keep Rumours above ground financially-speaking.
To this end, McCowan has started a GoFundMe in order to keep the bar alive. As of writing, it has raised just over $7,000 of its $18,000 goal in three days.
