The Port Bar
Gay bar · Downtown ·
Potent cocktails, vibrant setting, drag shows, and community events
Potent cocktails, vibrant setting, drag shows, and community events
"After a difficult final year marked by vandalism and other challenges, Broadway's Port Bar in Oakland will close at the end of February with last day for dancing and drag shows on February 25 because owners couldn't reach a lease agreement." - Lauren Saria
"Despite news that the Oakland queer space is set to close, I learned the partners behind Port Bar are teaming up with Parche to run a bi-monthly drag brunch on the first and third Sundays; the $25 cover includes a free drink at an afterparty held at Port Bar following the next event on February 18, and after Port Bar's scheduled closure on February 25 the afterparty will move to Port Bar's sister venue, Fluid510." - Dianne de Guzman
"The owners of the recently vandalized Port Bar at 2023 Broadway are facing a landlord move to terminate their lease early; I read that landlord Phil Leong claims the venue packs too many people into its space, creating a safety hazard, and is invoking a clause about the premises being a “bar serving wine, beer, and spirits” to try to end the lease at the end of 2024. Owners Sean Sullivan and Richard Fuentes deny this and say karaoke nights, trivia, and DJ parties are expected programming at a bar and want to remain through their original lease end in 2027. Leong owns the adjacent space under construction, where workers allegedly told passersby it will be a karaoke bar, and when asked about the possible conflict he replied, “my right to do it.”" - Paolo Bicchieri
"I found the owners and staff shaken up after an incident of vandalism that shattered the Port Bar’s exterior windows sometime after the bar closed at midnight on Tuesday, October 3; a security guide notified co-owner Richard Fuentes on the morning of Wednesday, October 4. The owners initially suspected gunfire, but the Oakland Police Department later said the damage was caused by “rocks being thrown at the windows,” while Fuentes says the projectiles appeared to be ankle weights weighing about two to five pounds. Aside from the broken windows, no staff were hurt and nothing was taken, but Fuentes believes the attack may have been a targeted hate crime—citing that only Port Bar was damaged, threatening comments that frequently appear (and are deleted) on the bar’s Instagram posts advertising drag shows, and recent reports of vandalism at local queer bars such as San Francisco’s Cinch Saloon, which was graffitied with an anti-trans slur on September 26. The owners have boarded up the custom double-pane glass (repairs expected to cost “upwards of $10,000” and take two weeks), increased vigilance and security, and launched a GoFundMe that reached its $10,000 goal in a day; the bar reopened by Wednesday afternoon to an overwhelming show of customer support, which Fuentes says underscores that the Port Bar is more than just a bar but a space people call home. The Port Bar (2023 Broadway, Oakland) will be open during its regular business hours: 5 p.m. to midnight Tuesday–Thursday, 3 p.m. to 1:45 a.m. Friday–Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Sundays." - Dianne de Guzman
"In Oakland I learned that Port Bar had its glass door and windows shot on the night of October 3 in what police described to owner Sean Sullivan as an intentional attack. Located at 2023 Broadway and opened in 2016, the gay-owned bar is also a noted destination for drag shows." - Paolo Bicchieri