March 18, 2021
Treasure
HUNT
Go Digging for Resale Gold in Atlanta
Re-imagining Your Post-Pandemic Life 10 Huge Benefits of Being Single Again Saying Goodbye to Joe’s & Einstein’s
Like NEW WHILE YOU LOOK AHEAD to a new world this season,
don’t forget to bring the best parts with you. This issue of Q ATLus glances back to move forward.
Q Cover re-imagines thrift and vintage finds into looks you can bring alive today without killing your wallet. Q Voices
also looks at post-pandemic life with some lessons learned from the long year that preceded it.
New beginnings with experience in tow is also part of LGBTQ Atlanta coverage this week. The Joystick and Georgia Beer
Garden guys open a third bar in Midtown, and people who are “single again” find 10 upsides to going it alone.
You are you, and Q is Q, so we also bring you reliable weekly
features: the best Q Events, some sage Q Advice and a helpful Q Map. Get in there and root around, and hit us up every day for fresh content on the socials and at theQatl.com.
RICHARD CHERSKOV PUBLISHER & SALES RICHARD@THEQATL.COM 404-917-9678 JOHN NAIL ART DIRECTOR JOHN@THEQATL.COM
MIKE FLEMING EDITOR MIKE@THEQATL.COM RIVENDELL MEDIA NATIONAL ADVERTISING SALES@RIVENDELLMEDIA.COM 212-242-6863 theQatl.com 5
INSIDE THIS ISSUE VOLUME 4 ISSUE 17
MARCH 18, 2021
LONE STAR
10 Upsides to Being Single
COVER
18
10
New to You
Thrift & Vintage Finds
13
14
COMMUNITY
NIGHLIFE
Joe’s & Einstein’s to Close
Concepts from Edgewood to Midtown
So Long
10 Q Things...............10 Q Community............13 Q Nightlife.................14 Q Events....................23 Q Map........................24 Q Advice....................29 6 theQatl.com
Fresh Start
Q ADVICE
Clicktivism
Foolhardy Keyboard Warriors
29
Q
VOICES
Post-Pandemic LIFE SPRINGTIME. A TIME OF NEW BEGINNINGS. A time of rebirth. And by the height of summer 2021, a majority of Americans may be vaccinated from COVID 19. Follow the science. Follow the experts. But eventually, life will transition. The cold ground will thaw. What will you do with your “new normal” once the vaccine gives you a fresh start? Will we pick up old habits without looking back? How long will our appreciation for newfound freedom last? Here are some hopes for a brave new world once we put it back together.
EYE CONTACT
and no longer afraid of each other!
Don’t watch the TV show where the couple meets at the coffee shop. Be the TV show where the couple meets at the coffee shop.
SUBVERTING CLIQUES
Cliques are a social disease, a manifestation of a collective neurosis. But people still do them out of stale tradition and bad habit, like racism or hegemony. No more. Walk up to a stranger, acquaintance, old flame or one-night stand and say something. Tell yourself you’re drunk and newly empowered by your liquid courage. Pay no mind to their friends staring open-mouthed at your audacity. Don’t even look at them. Don’t you dare give them your eyeball nerve endings. See what happens.
I’m biased because my eyes are SCOTT blue and people think that I’m KING therefore profoundly beautiful on the inside, but you really do GO TO ‘CHURCH’ learn a lot about a person by looking them deeply Y’all need Jesus. Just kidding. I mean, you do, in the eyes. It’s not safe yet, but because of our you heathens, but in the broader sense. Have a short attention spans and those devices in our communal experience. Engage in activity that pockets, eye contact really hasn’t been en vogue connects you with humanity, with something for quite a while anyway. beyond humanity. Experience something that PEREGRINATION transcends this mortal coil. Remember being a teenager and driving around My church is music. What does it for you? Is it for no reason? Wanderlust. A thirst for experience. mom jeans and yoga? Is it Catholicism because Let’s bring that back. Rekindle our love affair you get off on the ritual and repression? Is it a with the night mysterious. Stand back in awe of dance floor? Is it volunteering? Is it a skate park? the cinemascope that is life. Don’t take a selfie and You know what it is. Now go get after it and bring tag yourself. Just roam. me a higher love.
LOITERING
Stay put. Sip a beverage. Read a newspaper or magazine. Read a room. Whether your mind is in the past present or future, keep your body in one place. Watch the molecules move around the room and rearrange themselves. It may manifest as silly or groovy or cute or ugly, but you’re all in one place together 8 theQatl.com
WRITE IT DOWN
As you venture into the new world in all its forms, take note and take notes. Think about the things you forgot and even took for granted before COVID. Notice what you notice. Do it for yourself and your own posterity. Scott King is a writer and thinker living in Atlanta.
Instagram.com/theQatl
Q
10 THINGS
LIKE A BIRD
You are free to travel, take a new job, chase your dreams or drop everything without regard to anyone but you.
SINGLE AGAIN?
Good! Here are 10 of the best things about flying solo By Mike Fleming
SO YOU BROKE UP. It’s not all dinner for one and lonely longing, not by a long shot. In fact, you’re free in these specific ways to do what you want, when you want, and who you want. FRIEND ZONE
Chill with friends without the nagging voice that says you have to do something that won’t be nearly as fun.
FLIRTING
NO-GUILT IMPROMPTU SEX
You may not always hook up with strangers, but when you do, you are free of any obligations to the contrary. 10 theQatl.com
Flying solo means that if the urge strikes, you are your only monitor. Come to think of it, this is also a drawback, but oh well.
NO PETTY FIGHTS
Rest easy. There will be no fights over something stupid — or worse, over nothing — to ruin your day.
FREE TIME
Take a class, read a book, learn a skill, or watch only the shows you want to watch on TV or Netflix.
ANTICIPATION
Butterflies in your stomach over meeting someone or going out with them for the first time are all yours.
BED & CLOSET SPACE
Every square inch is yours. You deserve to give your stuff more space, and the only cover hog is your dog.
FARTING
Do it. Any time, anywhere.
NO ONE ELSE’S FRIENDS OR FAMILY
You are never under any obligation to hang out with anyone’s boss, buddies or brother but your own. theQatl.com 11
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12 theQatl.com
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COMMUNITY
Q
End of an
ERA
So long, farewell to Joe’s and Einstein’s in June By Matt Hennie TWO DINING AND DRINKING STAPLES IN LGBTQ Atlanta will close in June and make way for bulldozers, construction cranes and residential towers on Juniper Street in Midtown. The Metrotainment-owned property that houses Joe’s on Juniper and Einstein’s is under contract. Developer Middle Street Partners unveiled plans for a mixed-use project at the site on March 9 during a Midtown Development Review Committee meeting. “Metrotainment Cafes Restaurant Group has signed a contract for the sale of the Einstein’s and Joe’s on Juniper real estate in Midtown. At present, the intent is to continue serving our guests until early June,” Tori Allen, a Metrotainment spokesperson, said in an email statement.
Metrotainment, which also owns six Hudson Grille locations in metro Atlanta, did not provide additional details about possible futures for Joe’s and Einstein’s. What Now Atlanta first reported the Middle Street Partners project on March 4. The firm proposes a 40-story tower with 320 units for phase one, with a 32-story building with 150 units in a later phase. The second phase also includes a six-story parking deck with 694 spaces. Both buildings will include ground-floor retail, according to a project description provided to the review committee. Closing Joe’s and Einstein’s is the latest change for Metrotainment. The restaurant operator sold the LGBTQ-popular Cowtippers to make way for a bank in 2018 before the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc on its business. In March 2020, employees complained that Metrotainment owed them money. Einstein’s has been serving casual Southern fare since 1991. theQatl.com 13
Q
NIGHTLIFE
TIME & PLACE
By Mike Fleming WHEN IT COMES TO REINVENTION, IT’S hard to beat the owners of Joystick Gamebar and Georgia Beer Garden. Now Johnny Martinez and Brandon Ley channel that energy toward a third bar plus fresh changes at their existing spots. When By Weight & Measure, their third venture, opens this summer, it will be a new co-owner. Ian Carlson is the general manager at the pair’s Edgewood spots, and he steps up for the new craft cocktail concept. “We want to highlight a lot of the really cool techniques that have been pioneered in recent years by bartenders in the ‘cocktail chemistry’ movement that are being used around the city, but not being put front and center for the guest,” Carlson told Project Q.
In addition to a new partner, the team also ventures out of Edgewood and into Midtown for By Weight & Measure. They think the ground floor of the Coda complex in Tech Square is the perfect spot. “I personally love the idea of all the innovation and collaboration happening on Georgia Tech’s campus spilling over into the food hall at the Collective,” Carlson said. The still-roiling coronavirus pandemic remains a top-of-mind concern for all involved, but the new venue arrives at a time of widespread optimism for a post-pandemic Atlanta.
Reset
BUTTON
“The Covid-19 pandemic has been an extremely large concern in my life, although I am cautiously optimistic about the vaccine rollout,” Carlson said.
Joystick & GBG guys take on new venue, Martinez agreed. new partner, “We’re slowly coming new ‘hood out of our COVID hiber-
“Think chemistry lab meets cocktail bar, but with a warm heart.”
So what does that mean for the menu? At least one of the most popular Carlson creations at Joystick reappears at By Weight & Measure: The Knuckin’ and Buckin’ coffee-bourbon slushie. A drink called Simple Peanut Farmer is an ode to Jimmy Carter with house-made peanut butter bourbon and Coke. The Bristol County is a carbonated love affair between gin, cranberries and rosemary. Forty Years Together is a boozy sipper featuring milk-washed chai infused rum, bourbon and herbal liqueurs. The drink menu also includes a carefully curated selection of wines and beers. 14 theQatl.com
nation and will be completely reopen soon.”
WHAT’S NEW ON EDGEWOOD?
Reopening beyond takeout for the existing Ley-Martinez venues comes with changes, too. They set sites on April 5 to fling open Joystick’s doors on renovations and expansions done during Lockdown 2020. “We’re expanding our Opus-09 room to allow for more events with better seating,” Martinez said. “We’re also putting in a half-bar in our parlor to make service on busy nights easier for everyone.” Across the street at Georgia Beer Garden, the changes are even bigger. “Georgia Beer Garden is getting an update to the
Johnny Martinez and Brandon Ley
PHOTO BY RUSS BOWEN-YOUNGBLOOD
interior as well as the menu,” Martinez promised. The upstairs space is completely transformed for a grand opening targeted a few weeks after Joystick’s return. “We’re very excited to open our Mambo Zombi Room + After Life Lounge upstairs at GBG,” Martinez said. “This will be a fusion of Latin American and Afro-Caribbean flavors and music. Think Day of the Dead. Think Voodoo. Think banana daquiris.” The expertise of sommelier and craft bartender
Kysha Cyrus is part of the new vibe. Martinez calls her “Atlanta’s greatest living palate.” That should come as no surprise. Switching things up, new partnerships and revitalized spaces are just extensions of work these business owners already love. “It feels good to give some love to these spaces and enhance what works so well,” Martinez said. Visit gabeergarden.com, joystickgamebar.com and facebook.com/WeightandMeasureATL theQatl.com 15
theQatl.com 17
Q
COVER
Past Present
PERFECT
Queering New Looks from Thrifty Vintage Finds SHOPPING THE THRIFT SCENE, exploring your Dad’s or daddy’s closet, or pillaging your own archives invites the past to inspire a fashionable future. Turn the page for looks that rock vintage vibes without breaking the bank.
P
It’s Your Party 18 theQatl.com
Print Out
theQatl.com 19
VINTAGE continued
Top Layers 20 theQatl.com
Vintage Chic
s theQatl.com 21
22 theQatl.com
Q Events
The Best LGBTQ Things to Do in Atlanta This Week THURSDAY, MARCH 18
Sidewalk Sale
Books as low at $2 each as Atlanta’s lesbian- and
trans-led feminist bookstore makes way for a new era @ Charis, 12 noon – 4 p.m. charisbooksandmore.com
SUNDAY, MARCH 21 Karlitos
The local fave keeps the Xion booties
bouncing into the wee PHOTO BY TOBY
X After Dark
hours @ Wish Lounge, 3 a.m. – 7 a.m.
Tristan Panucci Dupree, Aspen York and Raquel
Drag Brunch
Rae Heart (photo) want you to stay out late on a
The Sisters of Sequins
school night. Drag into Friday after a show @ X
perform with Bubba
Midtown, 12 midnight. facebook.com/xmidtownx
D. Licious at the wheel
while you eat @ Lips,
FRIDAY, MARCH 19
12:30 p.m. lipsatl.com
Fired Up
The Fuego party crew and DJ GSP are on fire, and
TUESDAY, MARCH 23
you are too, queen. You.
hereticatlanta.com
Are. Too @ Heretic, 10 p.m.
F**k It Friday
Drop in on a full day and night of specials.
Andrew opens, then JayR and Eric bring it home with a different guest VJ every week. Anything goes @ Hideaway, 2 p.m. – 3 a.m. facebook.com/ atlantahideaway
SATURDAY, MARCH 20 Queer Threads
A pop-up thrift shop pops with clothing, including a
Trivia Tuesday
$5 grab-bag sale. Multiple
Drop in on a full afternoon and evening of specials,
and entry will be spaced out
prize @ Hideaway, 9 p.m. Happy Hour specials
southernfriedqueerpride.com
tahideaway
bags welcome. SFQP hosts,
and don’t forget Trivia Tuesdays with a $50 bar tab
for safety @ Georgia Beer Garden, 1 p.m. – 6 p.m.
every weekday, 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. facebook.com/atlan-
theQatl.com 23
on tA ve .N E dm Pi e
4
9
11th St. NE
8
10th St. NE
Amsterdam Ave.
Dr. N E
Piedmont Park
14th St. NE
12th St. NE
12
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West Peachtree St. NE
E
75
t. N eS tre
85
ach Pe
Spring St. NW
Q Atlus Map
10 5
Virginia Ave. NE
1 9th St. NE
227 10th St. NE 2. Bulldogs Bar 893 Peachtree St NE 3. Friends on Ponce 736 Ponce De Leon Ave NE 4. My Sister’s Room 84 12th St 5. X Midtown 990 Piedmont Ave. NE 6. Atlanta Eagle 306 Ponce De Leon Ave NE
24 theQatl.com
Bars
Restaurants North Ave. NW
North Ave. NW
Clubs Retail/Services
Not Shown
Future (opening soon) 50 Lower Alabama St SW, Suite 180
8. Henry’s Midtown Tavern 132 10th St NE
Mary’s 1287 Glenwood Ave SE
9. Joe’s onRalph Juniper McGill Blvd. NE 1049 Juniper St NE
Sister Louisa’s 466 Edgewood Ave SE
10. Zocalo Mexican Kitchen & Cantina 187 10th St NE Highland Ave. NE 11. Barking Leather After Dark 306 Ponce De Leon Ave NE (inside Eagle) 12. Urban Body Fitness 500 Amsterdam Ave NE
The T 465 Boulevard SE Swinging Richards 1400 Northside Dr NW Lips Drag Show Palace 3011 Buford Highway NE Lost ’n Found Youth Thift Store 2585 Chantilly Dr NE
Ponce De Leon Pl. NE
3
Key
Ponce De Leon Ave. NE
7. Flex 76 4th St NW
Ponce De Leon Pl. NE
r. NE roe D Mon
Charles Allen Dr. NE
11 6
St. Charles Ave.
Glen Iris Dr. NE
1. Blakes on the Park
NE
NE
Piedmont Park
Piedmont Ave.
Spring St. NW
7
2 Juniper St. NE
85
Peachtree St.
75
West Peachtree St. NE
8th St. NE
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Alco S t. NE
Piedmont Ave. NE
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Bri
Key
Bars Restaurants Clubs Retail/Services
Cheshire Bridge Road 5. The Heretic 2069 Cheshire Bridge Road NE
9. Gravity Fitness 2201 Faulkner Rd NE
2. Tripp’s Bar 1931 Piedmont Circle NE
6. Las Margaritas 1842 Cheshire Bridge Road NE
10. Southern Nights 2205 Cheshire Bridge Road NE
3. Woof’s Sports Bar 494 Plasters Ave NE
7. Roxx Tavern 1824 Cheshire Bridge Road NE
11. Tokyo Valentino (Cheshire Bridge) 1739 Cheshire Bridge Road NE
4. BJ Rooster’s 2043 Cheshire Bridge Road NE
8. 2Qute Hair Salon 1927 Cheshire Bridge Road NE
nr Mo
3
5
Pied
4. Oscar’s 1510 Piedmont Ave NE
tA ve .N E on ed m
r. NE
Pi
5. Barking Leather 1510 Piedmont Ave NE 6. Boy Next Door 1447 Piedmont Ave NE
D Monroe
Piedmont Park
1. Felix’s on the Square 1510 Piedmont Ave NE
3. Midtown Moon 1510 Piedmont Ave NE
8
6
Ansley Park 2. The Hideaway 1544 Piedmont Ave NE
E
4
r. N
7
D oe
2 1
Morningside Dr. NE
mon t
Ave. NE
1. Sequel Bar 1086 Alco St. NE
Key
Bars Restaurants Clubs Retail/Services
7. Brushstrokes 1510 Piedmont Ave NE 8. Equilibrium Fitness 1529 Piedmont Ave NE
theQatl.com 25
Q Atlus Map Directory The businesses on the preceding pages are integral parts of Atlanta’s LGBTQ landscape. Those listed in boxes are consistent Q partners and community allies. BARS, CLUBS & RESTAURANTS Atlanta Eagle 306 Ponce De Leon Ave NE BJ Roosters 2043 Cheshire Bridge Road NE Blakes on the Park 227 10th St. NE Bulldogs Bar 893 Peachtree St NE Felix’s on the Square 1510 Piedmont Ave NE Friends on Ponce 736 Ponce De Leon Ave NE Future 50 Lower Alabama St SW, Suite 180 Henry’s Midtown Tavern 132 10th St NE The Heretic 2069 Cheshire Bridge Road NE The Hideaway 1544 Piedmont Ave NE Joe’s on Juniper 1049 Juniper St NE Las Margaritas 1842 Cheshire Bridge Road NE Lips Drag Show Palace 3011 Buford Highway NE Mama’s Cocina 1958 Piedmont Road NE Mary’s 1287 Glenwood Ave SE Midtown Moon 1510 Piedmont Ave NE My Sister’s Room 84 12th St Oscar’s 1510 Piedmont Ave NE Roxx Tavern 1824 Cheshire Bridge Road NE
26 theQatl.com
Sequel Bar 1086 Alco St. NE
Sister Louisa’s 466 Edgewood Ave SE Swinging Richards 1400 Northside Dr NW The T 465 Boulevard SE Tripp’s Bar 1931 Piedmont Circle NE Woof’s Sports Bar 494 Plasters Ave NE X Midtown 990 Piedmont Ave. NE Zocalo Mexican Kitchen & Cantina 187 10th St NE
RETAIL & SERVICES 2Qute Hair Salon 1927 Cheshire Bridge Road NE Barking Leather 1510 Piedmont Ave NE Barking Leather After Dark 306 Ponce De Leon Ave NE (inside Atlanta Eagle) Boy Next Door 1447 Piedmont Ave NE Brushstrokes 1510 Piedmont Ave NE Equilibrium Fitness 1529 Piedmont Ave NE Lost ’n Found Youth Thrift Store 2585 Chantilly Dr NE Urban Body Fitness 500 Amsterdam Ave NE
ADULT Flex 76 4th St NW Southern Nights 2205 Cheshire Bridge Road NE Starship Galaxy/Starship Novelties 2273 Cheshire Bridge Road NE Tokyo Valentino 1739 Cheshire Bridge Road NE
Q Advice
Social DIVISION Platforms bank on you overvaluing your own opinion
Q
A friend is in an online relationship with a person in Europe. This friend has been lonely for years and was taken advantage of in the past. Now they plan to sell everything , move and get married. My friend tunes out detractors, so I took to Facebook, covertly peppering his feed with posts, memes and articles about online hoaxes and foreign strangers. Hopefully, he’ll get the subliminal messages, because nothing else is working. What else we can do to stop this train wreck?
Q
The straight owner of a pizza place recently tweeted a video calling his gay male friend “girl” and making a “limp-wristed” gesture. We put the owner on social media blast, tagging him in comments and posting on his business page. For days, it was nerve-racking to jump on and see the latest comments. The guy finally posted an apology, saying that he didn’t know and regrets it, but it rings hollow. He even wrangled his gay friend to appear in a new video, and they actually defended him!
The posts are dwindling now, and it seems like the Twitterverse is moving on. I think it’s disgusting to let slights like this just vanish. Dear Over-Important & Clicktivist: There was a time when people’s decisions were made before a limited audience. Opinions were personal as well, and it was considered rude to offer our own without being asked. If shared at all, it was only with those closest to us. Welcome to social media. Have a look around and make yourself comfortable. We’re accutely aware of people’s personal decisions, and our approval or disapproval is expected. But it’s The Big Facebook Lie that our opinions and approval of other people matters this much. Is a friend making a mistake in love? Worse than the potential heartache could be not giving it a chance and never knowing. You don’t know. Speak to them respectfully instead of passive-aggressively posting, then butt out. Too many of us are so convinced that their random thoughts are important, we are more likely to dig in our heels than open our hearts. We’d rather defend our opinion than listen to information that might change our minds. Vengeance is quick and forgiveness is slow. Basing decisions on what other people think is the road to ruin, and forcing your opinions on others is ugly and potentially dangerous. Callout Culture and pile-on shaming leaves no room for evolution on difficult topics. Clicktivism makes us feel like we helped, but we didn’t actually do anything except mash our thumbs on the lightbox in our pocket. The Q is for entertainment, not counseling. Send burning Qs to mike@theQatl.com. ILLUSTRATION BY BRAD GIBSON
theQatl.com 29
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