The Hollywood Reporter (Weekly)
Two New Bars Revive L.A.’s Lesbian Nightlife Scene
The Ruby Fruit wine bar (‘It’s like Cheers for lesbians’) opened in February in Silver Lake, while Honey’s at Star Love revs up East Hollywood: ‘Providing safe spaces is extremely important right now’
In West Hollywood’s Boystown neighborhood, there are a wealth of nightlife options catering to cisgender gay men; spots that have opened just in the past 18 months include Heart WeHo (co-owned by Lance Bass), Schmitty’s, Stache and Or Bar (co-owned by style expert and former Fashion Police host George Kotsiopoulos).
But there’s been a dearth of nightlife havens for lesbians in L.A. ever since The Palms closed in WeHo in 2013 and The Oxwood Inn shut down in the San Fernando Valley in 2017.
That all changed in 2023. The Ruby Fruit — described as a “neighborhood wine bar for the sapphically inclined” and whose name is an homage to Rita Mae Brown’s landmark lesbian novel The Rubyfruit Jungle — opened earlier this year in the former Eszett restaurant space in a Silver Lake strip mall on Sunset Boulevard.
Co-owner Emily Bielagus serves as wine director of the bar, which also offers an eclectic lunch and dinner menu, led by chef and co-owner Mara Herbkersman, featuring dishes like fried cod croquettes, Japanese sweet potato and smoked blue oyster mushrooms.
“The approach is joyful, playful, snacky [items] that are easy to eat [and] go great with wine,” Herbkersman says. The Ruby Fruit regularly hosts wine nights featuring queer and woman-owned winemakers and is gearing up to host a “Y2Gay” party, playing all ’90s and 2000s music.
Says Bielagus of The Ruby Fruit’s devoted crowd, “There are so many regulars at this point, it’s like … Cheers for lesbians.”
At Star Love, a colorfully designed venue in East Hollywood, Honey’s has taken up a weekly residency Wednesdays through Saturdays. Founded by Charlotte Gordon, Kate Greenberg and Mo Faulk, the queer, lesbian and trans-inclusive nightlife offering was designed to fill a gap the partners noticed in L.A.’s queer nightlife scene.
“I felt that there was a need in Los Angeles for a queer brick-and-mortar space to provide an addition to the monthly and promoter parties that have been so active in L.A.,” Greenberg says. “For me, it was the techno and house parties in NYC and Berlin where I felt completely energized and connected; [they] gave me an outlet to feel a sense of community and safety with music. I do feel that providing safe spaces for the queer community is extremely important, particularly given the political climate.”
Faulk curates the music programming, which is led by resident DJ DEESCO, but often welcomes guest DJs; other programmed nights at Honey’s at Star Love include a bimonthly Wednesday night karaoke, queer speed dating, burlesque nights and an upcoming Pride Month party that will benefit the Trans Lifeline nonprofit.
Adds Gordon: “We wanted to create a nightlife experience that catered to the full spectrum of queers — from folks who drink to folks who don’t, to people who prefer spending a night out dancing to those who prefer an intimate conversation in a vibey corner of a bar. … The flower- and tile-filled, vintage speakeasy was the perfect venue for it.”