It’s like a monument.”Ī welcoming environment of the bar is a guaranteed promise of the Apartment Lounge with Johnson comparing it as “the friendliest place on Earth besides Disney.” Alongside futuristic remodels and innovations he wants to maintain the needs of the community and emphasize the cultural importance of the bar.The comforts of a friendly, small-town atmosphere combined with the pleasures of big city life make Grand Rapids an ideal choice for a fun getaway with a host of indoor and outdoor activities. It has character, and you can tell when you come in. “Not only is it the only in Grand Rapids, it’s also the oldest gay ‘thing’ in Michigan. But, once you get someone in there, they will probably come back from the environment they experience because the bar lives up to its slogan: ‘where friends meet,’” Stringer said. “An initial bait to get someone to go would be: it’s cheap.
Tyler Stringer, a Grand Valley State University student, has become one of the frequent customers over the years because of the Lounge’s inclusive atmosphere, affordable drink specials, and historical significance. “It was important for them that the person they chose would take the bar into the future and protect its values and make sure it was always a beacon for the gay community.” They wanted someone they knew would take it into the future and sometimes put the community’s needs before profit and they knew I would be the person to do that,” Johnson said. “I was chosen to be what I call the ‘curator’ of the Apartment Lounge.
Preserving the values of the bar has always been a crucial decisive factor for the former owners when choosing their legacy. 2012 after a 20-year-old agreement made between the gentlemen. Johnson purchased the bar from Milton Lenox and Ed Ladner in Jan. “They always thought it was ‘the older gentlemen’s bar’ and we have definitely changed its image and brought it into today.” “Bringing the bar into the ‘future’ was just freshening it up a little bit and taking into consideration what the community needed as a whole and not just what it had done before which was just service the smallest group of people,” Johnson said. Along with the name, friendly atmosphere, and rich, mahogany wood that lines the counter, it may appear as if the bar has not changed over the decades, but that would be short-sighted.īob “Bobby J” Johnson, owner of the Apartment Lounge, has invested his time in bringing the bar into what he calls the “future.” The bar initially being the embodiment of Fort Knox in terms of technology, is now equipped with phone chargers at every table, flat screen TVs, and live disk jockeys every week. The historic phrase “meet me at the apartment” gave the community a way to go out at night without having to “out” themselves to their friends, family, or colleagues. The Apartment Lounge, created in 1988 and located at 33 Sheldon NE, has always served as the epitome of protection and comfort for the LGBT community. However, in the fast growing city of Grand Rapids, the first LGBT bar in the state is still successfully running today. Without state laws to protect gender identity and sexual orientation, the constant decline of gay-oriented businesses, and increasing statistics of homeless lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth, the state continues to remain stagnant in LGBT progression. Some people consider Michigan to be the ‘Texas of the Midwest’ in terms of conservative politics and they could be correct. OWNER BRINGS HISTORIC MICHIGAN LGBT BAR INTO THE “FUTURE”