Zodiac Bar’s co-owners Dee Chanelle

ONE of the only dedicated LGBT+ bars in the borough is bidding for later licensing hours amid warnings of a “void” left by the recent closure of a number of gay clubs and bars across the capital.

Zodiac Bar opened in Hampstead Road, near Euston, two years ago and – following the closure of the Black Cap pub in Camden Town – is currently the only LGBT+ venue in the borough. Co-owners Dee Chanelle and Jade Phoenix-Hoskins are preparing to ask the council to extend its licence until 3am on weekends.

The campaign for extended hours follows the closure of Soho’s G-A-Y Late in December, a nightclub which had a rare licence allowing it to remain open until 4am.

Ms Chanelle said: “That’s partly the reason why we are applying for an extension, because that then leaves a void to where people can actually go… when we lose space, it gives us fewer places to go to, and that’s why Zodiac wants to accommodate for that void that has been created.”

The venue, which Ms Chanelle describes as an “inviting place where you can be yourself”, is also one of the only “trans-owned and run businesses” in the country.

Ms Chanelle said: “As a trans person, I find that even though I’m what they call ‘passable’, there is that thing where you don’t feel comfortable in a space or environment. I would imagine for some trans women who are not quite ‘passable’, it’s still kind of uncomfortable to be in a straight bar.”

Dedicated LGBT+ bars remained an important “safe place… especially for trans women”, Ms Chanelle said.

She added: “Trans women are often targeted by men who have had a little bit to drink or are questioning their sexuality a little bit maybe. [I think] that’s where the phobia comes from, it’s awakening something deep within that they are uncomfortable with.”

She said the bar “for the most part trouble-free inside”, but called on the police “to invest in local policing after a series of homophobic and transphobic incidents outside the venue in recent months”.

Jade Phoenix-Hoskins

She said: “The incidents are the normal hatred or discrimination against people who are not considered the norm. I remember a few incidents – people can be quite intimidating.”

An increased police presence outside the bar would ensure the venue “becomes the home and the umbrella to the LGBT community”, Ms Chanelle said. But she added “straight” people also have a role to play in supporting LGBT+ spaces.

She said: “I personally think we should have more allies frequenting bars.

“In a utopia in my head, I would like to see allies come in support, not feel intimidated… maybe break a taboo of visiting an LGBT place in your street.

“I think that may be a first step into normalising the whole LGBT spectrum.”