“It’s just like the queer Cheers,” says Angela Barnes of No one’s Darling, the bar she owns together with her longtime good friend Renauda Riddle. It’s true: Whereas Chicago will not be a metropolis devoid of homosexual bars, the cocktail lounge acts as a type of neighborly oasis for these searching for one thing aside from a grungy dive.
“We had been very intentional about how we went about it: the neighborhood, the tradition and the texture,” Barnes explains. As two Black queer ladies, the founders constructed the house figuring out that town’s typical homosexual bars primarily cater to cis white males. There are solely 21 queer girl–owned bars left in the USA, and with that in thoughts, Riddle and Barnes knew precisely who they wanted to heart. “We needed to verify the house was woman-centered, for ladies to really feel comfy, but in addition for all members of the LGBTQ+ neighborhood to really feel at residence.”
Named after the Alice Walker poem, which begins “Be no one’s darling; / Be an outcast,” the namesake bar is a testomony to its inspiration, a juxtaposition of tavern-like sensibility combined with upscale décor. On any given night time, queer tattooed ladies of their 20s, homosexual males of their 50s and trans ladies of their 70s—amongst an entire host of others—might be discovered sitting on the burgundy bar beneath its Artwork Deco chandeliers. Whereas the audio system blare Nineteen Eighties pop music, the setting continues to be quiet sufficient to collect and make pals. “I see lots of people are available by themselves to sit down on the bar, and by the second time they’re in right here, they know not less than three extra folks,” says Barnes.
Even the cocktail menu at No one’s Darling has neighborhood in thoughts; it’s collaboratively developed, giving those that work behind the bar an opportunity to focus on their personalities. “It’s simply one other manner for us all to attach with the patrons,” explains bartender Becca Petersen, as she garnishes the All About Love, a minty vodka drink that she and co-worker Xavier Sumter created collectively. On either side of the bar, “there shouldn’t be an expectation of getting to be another person,” says Barnes. “Come as you might be.”
To get a way of the scene on any given night, we sat down at No one’s Darling to speak in regards to the bar with the individuals who understand it finest: The Regulars.
When can we often discover you right here?
Anytime I’m not at school. I’m now pals with all of the bartenders, so once I are available however I’m not essentially consuming, they’re like, “Cool, right here’s some water.”
Go-to drink?
I often let Xavier pick a whiskey for me, and he’s beneficial some nice Japanese whiskies. I’m being fancy tonight and consuming a Darling Previous-Usual [Old Forester, walnut liqueur, cherry bark vanilla bitters, Angostura, orange bitters] that Becca made, and it’s unbelievable.
How would you describe the individuals who come to this bar?
Queer and peculiar and loving. Whenever you’re right here, you possibly can actually make pals with anybody. You’ll be able to stroll as much as anyone and say, “OK, we’re in the identical house, so we’re most likely pals,” and also you’re not going to be bizarre if I begin a dialog with you. I had an ungainly second the place I used to be laughing at myself and stumbled out of my chair and landed on a stool subsequent to a stranger. They had been like, “Hey, whatcha doing right here?” and I used to be like, “OK, I suppose we’re speaking now.” After which we had been pals. It’s that simple.
What made you turn into an everyday right here?
It is a actually particular place. I come right here not particularly to drink; I come right here once I wish to be in a loving, secure house. I don’t assume there’s one other bar in Chicago like this, the place it’s queer-centered and woman-centered. A lot of Boystown and Andersonville is made for white homosexual males, and this isn’t that house. Everyone seems to be welcome, together with white homosexual males, but it surely feels extra like a neighborhood for each individual.
How lengthy have you ever been an everyday and the way did you hear in regards to the bar?
I heard about No one’s Darling by way of some queer pals of coloration, and I began going a few month after they opened final Could.
What was it about No one’s Darling that made you proceed to be a patron?
There are such a lot of issues! As a queer individual of coloration, I don’t really feel included in most homosexual areas, and I desire queer areas as a result of they make me really feel comfy in my very own physique. No one’s Darling made me really feel welcome, and I by no means really feel any strain to carry out [when I’m there]. I’ve additionally by no means felt scared that there was going to be racism towards me, which I’ve skilled in lots of institutions in Chicago and different main cities. The house owners and the managers got here as much as me and launched themselves immediately and had been so form. From the primary time I went alone and began assembly like-minded folks, it was really easy to make pals. Additionally, the drinks are wonderful.
What’s your go-to drink?
I really like their winter Martini [Cognac, lemon, butternut squash syrup, Amaro Montenegro and black walnut bitters]; I imagine it’s known as the Winter Darling.
Why is it vital to you to assist a bar like this?
Queer areas have been shrinking—versus homosexual areas. And by queer, I imply a definition that’s extra encompassing of gayness and isn’t tied to solely cis folks and cis our bodies. It is a queer house that facilities trans, nonbinary and queer folks of coloration. Racism within the homosexual neighborhood is absolutely obvious and might be blatant in some bars, however this is among the few spots that permits you to be precisely who you might be, so long as you might be respectful of others.
How lengthy have you ever been coming right here?
Final summer season, Dyke March had been rained out, so my good friend took me right here, and I used to be like, “How did I miss this?” Then I simply stored coming again to sit down out on the patio to learn or write. Ultimately, I’d seen Angela time and again, and I lastly launched myself. She thanked me for being a patron, and I thanked her for offering an exquisite house, after which over the months, if both of us had been on the bar, we might sit subsequent to one another. Over time, Angela and I grew to become very shut pals and that finally led to them providing me a job a number of months in the past. I believed, “Wow, what a stunning approach to get work.” That angle is the vitality of the house.
What makes an everyday common?
Respect. I really feel like that is how I grew to become so near everybody. Regardless that I’m an everyday that moved to [work as] an worker, I by no means anticipate to be served first.
Do you work together with the folks subsequent to you while you are available alone?
Everybody does. It’s a tiny bar, so that you type of need to make dialog. However much more than that, folks wish to speak to their bar neighbors. The quantity of occasions I’ve woken up and have so many new numbers in my telephone, and never from being drunk, is just because I simply find yourself having all of those great conversations. It’s unbelievable, the emotional and social affect No one’s Darling has on the queer neighborhood right here in Chicago.
Go-to drink?
So I’m allergic to mainly all the pieces and I can actually solely have one drink: the Mezcal Previous-Usual.
Favourite characteristic of the bar?
The poem hung up on the wall. I actually love that Alice Walker poem, and I feel it completely sums [up] what No one’s Darling values. And it’s humorous, as a result of it says “Don’t be anybody’s darling,” however while you’re right here, everybody’s your darling and also you’re everybody’s darling.
