As a gay man who lived in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen for 5 years, on any given night you could ask me to point you to the LGBTQ+-owned bar with the best drag shows, or the coffee shop-turned-bar with the best drink and non-alc specials.
In the 15 years I've been writing about travel since, I've kept looking for that same feeling in all the places I go. What I've learned as a queer traveler is that there's a major difference between a neighborhood that hangs a rainbow flag in June and one where queer people actually sign leases, rehab homes, invest in liquor licenses, and make hiring decisions that build community.
The second kind is rarer, and in my opinion, a worthy reason to build a trip around. These are the five neighborhoods I keep returning to in the U.S. to spend my hard-earned money and support LGBTQ+ businesses.
In this article
Hell's Kitchen in New York, New York
The city's densest queer nightlife runs along Ninth and 10th Avenues between roughly 42nd and 57th Streets, a few blocks west of the theater district that gave the neighborhood its Broadway-adjacent character in the first place.
Start at Hardware, the gay-owned bar run by Eric Einstein and Justin Buchanan, who also own Balcon in Hell’s Kitchen, which means one night out can support multiple queer-owned businesses.
Atlas Social Club is the quieter (although, admittedly—sometimes rowdy) alternative, with a back lounge that lets you actually hear each other. If you're seeking a space where the drag is the point rather than just garnish, Hardware runs shows nightly with no cover.
Meanwhile, It’s Him is a more recent addition that I’ve fallen in love with and long thought would fit well in the ‘nabe. By day, it’s a coffee shop and by night, it’s one of the neighborhood’s more upscale and sophisticated cocktail bars and lounges.
West Hollywood in California
West Hollywood (better known as WeHo) packs a remarkable amount into 1.9 square miles, most of it strung along Santa Monica Boulevard between La Cienega and Robertson in Los Angeles County.
The Abbey opened in 1991 as a small coffeehouse and is now the neighborhood's anchor (not to mention the inspiration behind Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club”). It stayed in queer hands when hospitality owner Tristan Schukraft bought it in 2024.
The neighborhood is also home to Out of the Closet, a thrift stop worth your time since proceeds fund HIV care.
Wilton Manors in Florida
Just north of Fort Lauderdale’s airport, this small area has its own distinct personality. The entire commercial spine is built around Wilton Drive where you’ll find roughly a mile of gay-owned restaurants, boutiques, and bars.
Rosie's Bar & Grill is the gay-owned patio everyone eventually lands on, best on a Sunday. Cake Daddys is run by an LGBTQ+ Latino gentleman whose grandmother inspired him, where the cinnamon roll and guava cake are my personal recommendations to try.
Pride Factory handles swimwear and going-out clothes should you have packed wrong, and Shades of the Past packs unique, tasteful antiques, lighting, art, and other objects for those with refined taste.
Sugar House in Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake's so-called second downtown sits about 10 minutes southeast of the center, walkable and reachable on the S Line streetcar.
Parfé Diem is the reason to come, a Black- and queer-owned pudding shop where Parker D. Barbee turned banana pudding into something closer to mousse. It’s open until 11 p.m. nightly, which in this city matters.
At Sugar House Station, the bar hall on Highland Drive, look for the Laziz counter from Derek Kitchen, whose marriage case with Moudi Sbeity helped bring equality to Utah.
I base myself downtown at Asher Adams, Autograph Collection, the historic 1909 Union Pacific Depot and an adjacent building reborn as a 225-room hotel, which I first came across through Utah’s LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce. It was worth the short drive over to Sugar House, both for the hotel’s striking railroad history and because, in my experience, SLC is remarkably easy to navigate by car, with plentiful parking for a city its size.
Boystown in Chicago, Illinois
Officially renamed Northalsted in 2020, though most locals still call it Boystown, this roughly 15-block stretch of North Halsted was the first officially recognized gay village in the country.
Sidetrack has been owned since 1982 by Art Johnston and Pepe Peña, who also helped found Equality Illinois, and in my humble opinion, Monday show tunes remains the best free entertainment in the city. Roscoe's draws the dance crowd, and Kit Kat Club serves dinner with tableside drag.
For daytime, I head to the trans-owned Jennivee’s Bakery, known for elaborate cakes and cupcakes sitting at the intersection of Filipino and American flavors; and Unabridged Bookstore, one of the oldest LGBTQ+ owned bookstores in the country.
The Shortcut
Look for areas where there's LGBTQ+ ownership and community investment back in the neighborhood. That's what ultimately keeps a gayborhood vibrant. It's usually easy to spot before you make travel plans.
Sugar House is the one nobody expects on this list: A pudding shop, a bar hall counter with a real place in Utah legal history, and a streetcar that gets you there.
You don't have to only be into the nightlife scene to support LGBTQ+ businesses. Some of these areas are built for a long weekend of going out, while others reward a slower daytime visit.
