Page 10 - Adelante Magazine March 2021

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By: Al Ballesteros

WHEN WILL LOS ANGELES’ GAY NIGHTLIFE
BEGIN TO RETURN AND WHAT WILL IT LOOK LIKE?

At present and under the orders of the me I can open at 10 % or 20%, Iʼll open
Public Health Officer of Los Angeles at that. I just need to open to make the
County, bars and nightclubs remain money for rent.”
closed as of March 1, 2021. This has
been the case in LA County and most When I spoke to Waldo, he was at
other parts of California and especially Trunks doing maintenance and hoping
after the surge in Covid-19 cases which that he and other like bar and nightclub
occurred over last yearsʼ holidays, owners will soon get the green light
culminating with the New Year 2021. from LA County Public Health to re-
For a brief period, some establishments open at some level.
which served food on site were able to
open last Summer. But for the most However, he and other local bar owners
part bars, nightclubs, pool halls and say they have not heard anything from
other establishments have been closed the local Health Department yet. Their
for nearly a year. source of information is the county
health departmentʼs website which they
Sadly, some long-standing gay estab- keep checking for updates. But when
lishments are not going to recover from will bars and nightclubs being to return?
this pandemic. The toll of lease Is this dependent on the communityʼs
payments and on-going expenses vaccination level or the point in time
coupled with the loss in revenue will be when we reach “herd immunity”?
hard to overcome.
On the vaccine front, more and more
Other well-known and highly persons in Los Angeles and California
frequented LGBT establishments in LA are getting vaccinated. According to
and other parts of California are eager Los Angeles County Department of
to return to business. For instance, Public Health, 1.7 million residents
West Hollywoodʼs Trunks Nightclub, a have received at least their First
long-standing gay bar on the Santa Vaccine Dose as of February 24, 2021.
Monica strip is eager to re-open. In In California, 7.7 million doses of
speaking to Trunkʼs owner Waldo, the vaccines have been administered,
bar has been closed since March 15, which includes first and second doses.
2020. Waldo says being closed for So, the numbers are climbing of those
nearly a year has hurt the business, the vaccinated. To add to this, beginning
employees and he the owner. “It is on March 1, 2021, persons who are in
pretty hard on us and especially certain classes of Essential Workers,
because we did not receive any assis- mainly those in food service, food retail
tance from the Paycheck Protection establishments, teachers, childcare
Program or PPP or other larger sources workers, and emergency workers will
of funding for small businesses.” He be eligible. This will be in addition to
says heʼs had to cover the on-going health care workers and persons 65
costs of Trunks using his own personal and over. This is a huge group of
savings which are now depleted. When persons and one can assume this is the
asked how he continues to hang on in exact population that comprises a good
light of this difficult situation, Waldo, percentage of those who frequent bars
who also owns the Trunks Bar in Palm and other nightlife establishments.
Springs quickly says, “we will stay in Also, on March 15, people with pre-
business no matter what.” “If they tell existing conditions will be eligible for
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