G-A-Y Bar To Close; Owner Lists Venue For Sale

Iconic Soho venue G-A-Y will close after about 25 years, owner Jeremy Joseph said, and he has put the bar on the market while focusing on keeping his other venue, Heaven, open. Joseph said a long rent-review arbitration over Heaven cost more than £100,000 and produced a rent increase he calls "doable," and he cited rising rents, difficult licensing, NIMBYism and a decline in visible Pride support as reasons for G-A-Y's closure. He thanked supportive landlords such as Soho Estates for pandemic-era help but said Old Compton Street has lost vibrancy and much of its LGBT identity, making continued operation untenable. Joseph noted Heaven was briefly closed earlier this year after a security guard was accused and later cleared, and he framed the G-A-Y closure as another blow to London’s LGBTQ+ nightlife and Soho’s cultural character.