But they soon learned that the younger clientele showing up wanted dance music, not show tunes. 'Today, the gay bar is established on Main Street, USA.'īutler and Lambright envisioned Savoy as the kind of bar they would like to frequent, but couldn't find in Orlando. 'Gay bars used to be in the back of warehouses or in alleys,' said Butler, 44. Just as gays have become part of mainstream society, gay bars need to compete with mainstream nightclubs and lounges, Butler said. The Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual Community Center of Central Florida sits on Mills Avenue. After a year and a half, they converted it into Paradise Orlando, a Key West-style, full-liquor bar open to gays, lesbians and straights. Just outside the boundaries of Downtown, it sits north of Colonial Drive. If other clubs serve liquor, a gay bar serving beer and wine has a hard time competing.īutler and Lambright's own experience with a niche beer-and-wine bar fizzled when they took over Studz, a denim-and-leather bar on Mills Avenue. If other nightclubs have dress and conduct codes, gay nightclubs should, too. If other bars have plasma televisions, gay bars should, too. The casualties may reflect an oversaturation of niche gay bars in Orlando and a demand by gay customers for high-caliber establishments, said George Butler, Lambright's partner. 'It has changed, but it has changed for the better,' said Lambright, who opened the Savoy a few blocks from the Lava Lounge three years ago.
