Lesbian bar in Massachusetts that sparked wild outrage in woke Covid mask war announces it’s closing for good

The Last Ditch Bar, a queer community venue in Greenfield, Massachusetts, has ended its regular opening hours and says it will close for good this winter unless new owners take over. The closure follows months of financial strain and comes after the bar drew intense criticism for making masks optional on Saturday nights, a change that affected a policy valued by some immunocompromised patrons.

The owners are seeking co-owners, a buyer or people willing to help manage a transition to a worker-owned co-operative; the bar has no board or leadership team to oversee that process. Its Instagram post values the equipment, furniture, repairs, stock and other assets at about $70,000, but gives no exact final closing date. Founded last year after two other regional queer bars shut, the venue had faced difficulty covering costs.