Rosette rebrands as Gastown’s only queer bar

by V. S. Wells on July 18th, 2023 at 3:26 PM

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In an unassuming storefront on the 100 block of West Hastings, Rosette’s narrow exterior belies a deep indoor space. Graphic black-and-white canvases from local queer artist Lisa Atterbury bedeck the walls, rainbow flags cluster by the window, and stairs lead down into a below-ground bar and events space. Rosette is Gastown’s only queer bar—as well as the newest gay space in the city.

“I’m trying to reach out to everybody—to give everybody a space that they’re going to feel comfortable in,” Brent Simpson, general manager of Rosette, tells the Straight at a newly installed high-top table before the bar opened for the night. (Owner Robert Heathman—whom, Simpson notes, is a “really supportive” ally—made a brief appearance.)

The Gastown spot used to be nose-to-tail fine dining restaurant Wildebeest, which shuttered in early 2021. Rosette ran as a regular pub for a while, before Simpson joined a couple of months ago and suggested the rebrand.

Simpson has worked in the hospitality industry for over two decades, with stints running gay bars on Davie Street as well as a queer strip club in Toronto’s Church Street gaybourhood.

“One of the things I realized is we are a destination pub, so we can’t just open our doors and expect people to walk through,” he says. “Robert and I sat down, we talked about a few things, and I said to him… ‘Having a gay general manager who’s very well-connected to the gay, queer, lesbian, drag queen community, I think your best bet is to open up Gastown’s only gay bar.’”

Simpson notes that Rosette is by no means Gastown’s first queer bar—Lick, on the corner of Abbott Street and West Pender Street, closed down in 2011—but it is the only queer space currently operating.

A chalkboard outside Rosette announces it as “Vancouver’s newest gay bar”—a surprisingly crowded title. Between Bimini’s in Kitsilano, the Birdhouse’s new location in Mount Pleasant, and even the reopening of the Cobalt (known to host legendary queer parties), the geographic diversity of dedicated queer nightlife spaces in Vancouver has increased substantially in 2023 alone, expanding well beyond the traditional enclave of Davie Village.

Word has also started spreading about the pub’s new direction, with curious patrons coming by to check out the space.

“Most of our walk-ins lately have been from the LGBT community, [saying], ‘You know, we heard about this place; we’re so thankful we finally have a space here in Gastown,’” Simpsons says. “It’s a good central location here at Rosette for the Commercial Drive [queer] community, as well as even the Davie Street one.”

The space has hit the ground running vis-a-vis events, with Niche Underground throwing an underwear party in the underground space, and both Lips and Prism have upcoming parties. Simpson encourages organizers to bring their own bar staff to fit the vibe, be it queer women for the sapphic meet-ups or jockstrap-clad twinks and daddies for masc gay parties. Simpson says he’s been given the freedom to do whatever bookings he sees fit, so he’s working on establishing Rosette as an LGBTQ2S+ events space.

Some ongoing events, like Gastown7 and Underground Comedy, will remain in the basement space—though Simpson added he’d like to see more LGBTQ2S+ representation at the comedy shows to better reflect the venue.

Besides that, there’s plenty else filling out the pub’s schedule. Mondays are industry nights for other local hospitality workers to come have a drink without spending their whole paycheque; Thursdays are queer karaoke nights hosted by Triumph; Sundays see a full British roast (though lacking a vegetarian option); a regular weekend drag brunch, tentatively named Lick My Grits, is in the works.

Right now, the pub is focused on serving drinks, and hoping to capitalize on Pride week. The venue’s location is only a few blocks away from where Vancouver Pride Parade’s new route terminates at Concord Community Park. A full menu is also on the to-do list, with plans to launch it in early fall once patio season is over—and yes, there will be gluten-free and vegan options.

Simpson adds: “It’s starting to really take off.”