The Mercury Cafe is closing. Denver's only lesbian bar is moving in.
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DENVER — How do you preserve the authenticity of one of Denver’s oldest and most cherished gathering spaces while making it the new home for the city’s only lesbian bar? That’s a challenge Ashlee Cassity and Dom Garcia feel ready for.
“We are two people who are very committed to our community,” said Cassity. “And we are being very deliberate about all of this.”
Cassity and Garcia launched Pearl Divers — Colorado’s only lesbian bar — in December, carving out a vibrant 900-square-foot space within Your Mom’s House, a music venue in Capitol Hill.
The two will shut down Pearl Divers April 1 and reopen in Five Points in the former space of Mercury Cafe. They are naming their bar The Pearl.
Marilyn Megenity founded Mercury Cafe in 1975. The bar and cafe hosted slam poetry, swing dancing and open mic nights.
In 2021, Megenity sold Mercury Cafe to local entrepreneur Danny Newman, who also owns My Brother’s Bar. Newman said he was excited for the chance to revive the place post-COVID after so many restaurants and bars closed.
But after a family medical emergency, Newman said he could not keep operating the place and listed it for sale.
“We had to spend lots of time and money just to keep it going and we just couldn’t do that anymore without some outside help,” Newman said.
Newman felt Garcia and Cassity fit the bill for what Mercury Cafe needed.
“When we met Dom and Ashlee and dove into what they’ve created, what their background is, what their team looks like, we knew they’d be able to actually execute making this a resounding success,” Newman said.
Cassity and Garcia will rent the space from Newman. Their lease requires they keep Mercury Cafe’s hours and event schedule until April 1, but they can change the name to The Pearl and create their own lineup after that.
Mady Avrerill, a bartender at Mercury Cafe, said the space is shaped by its regulars. In her year behind the bar, she’s watched the same familiar faces return night after night — playing the piano, debating philosophy and politics over drinks and swing dancing.
“We don’t want it to turn into something where there are so many new faces coming in that it pushes the regulars out,” Avrerill said. “This is one of those places where you walk in and you feel like you’re at home with your family, and that’s because of our regulars.”
Zain Najeebi plays the piano at Mercury Cafe four days a week. Sometimes bartenders throw a few dollars in tips his way, but he mostly comes for the camaraderie.
“People come up to me while I’m playing and that’s how I’ve met all of my friends in Denver,” said Najeebi, 26, a full-time piano teacher. “I can’t imagine not being able to come and have this outlet.”
Najeebi said he appreciates that Mercury Cafe doesn’t feel like a typical bar or club. Alcohol, he noted, is not the central focus of the space. The stringed lights and old couches feel more like a living room than a dance club, and he hopes the cafe stays that way.
“I would be devastated if this place changed,” he said.
Cassity and Garcia are committed to giving the place “a face lift,” without changing its soul, they said. Cassity is from Louisiana and wants to keep the gold chandeliers, purple and green walls and jazz nights that remind her of New Orleans.
“We know this is going to be one of those things where we have to earn people’s trust,” Cassity said. “And I don’t think we’re going to change what The Merc has always been — we’re just going to be enhancing it.”
lesbian bar, after it closed in November 2024. Two months after opening Pearl Divers, the two said the small space was “bursting at the seams every night.”
Cassity said the two chose their original spot in part because of its proximity to the strip of gay bars on East Colfax. At 13th and Pearl Street, Pearl Divers was a short walk from East Colfax and in the heart of Capitol Hill, long known as Denver’s ‘gayborhood.’
“If we could’ve found a place in Cap Hill that could accommodate for the crowd sizes we had, we absolutely would’ve stayed in the neighborhood,” Cassity said.
The Pearl will be in Five Points. Cassity said she and Garcia are committed to respecting the legacy of the area, a historically Black neighborhood that has endured decades of gentrification.
In August 2023, Mercury Cafe staff voted to form a union with Communications Workers of America.
“After getting up on our feet and getting the dust settled, we would love to sit down with the union and give them the opportunity to be heard, but we have no legal obligation to do so,” Cassity said.
There are currently 34 lesbian bars in the US, according to the Lesbian Bar Project.
Newman said Mercury Cafe was always an LGBTQ+-affirming space. Cassity and Garcia hope to merge their loyal queer following at Pearl Divers with the Mercury Cafe regulars.
“We are going to do our very best to try to operate it with the utmost respect and keep those core values,” Cassity said. “We’re ready to earn the trust of this community.”
Type of story: News
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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