Last Ditch Bar
 Interactive map of Last Ditch Bar | |
Former names | The Root Cellar, 10 Forward |
|---|---|
| Location | Greenfield, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 42°35′15″N 72°36′09″W / 42.5873921°N 72.6025794°W |
| Capacity | 100[1] |
| Type | LGBTQ bar |
| Construction | |
| Opened | April 2025 |
| Website | |
| lastditchvenue | |
Last Ditch is a lesbian bar and performing arts venue in Greenfield, Massachusetts. It opened in 2025 and hosts live music, drag performances, karaoke, dance parties, film screenings, and other events.[2]
Background
[edit]The bar was founded by Asa Rosario, Jackie Matellian, and Sage Territo. It was established as a queer community space following the closure of other LGBTQ-oriented venues in the area.[2] Territo has cited Leslie Feinberg's novel Stone Butch Blues as an inspiration for the project.[2]
History
[edit]Prior to opening the bar, the three owners had been reflecting on the history, significance, and purpose of lesbian bars and their desire to establish a community-oriented space.[2] Rosario, Matellian, and Territo purchased the venue with the support of a loan from the Franklin County Community Development Corporation.[2]
In January 2025, the city's Board of License Commissioners approved the bar's liquor license.[3] Prior to opening, the nearest such bar had been Femme Bar in Worcester, Massachusetts.[3] Last Ditch opened in April 2025 at 10 Fiske Ave in Greenfield, Massachusetts.[4]
The owners had initially considered naming the venue in honor of other bars that had since closed.[2] However, on the advice of older community members, they decided not to.[2] Wanting to integrate a pun into the name, the owners settled on "ditch" as a synonym for the literal non-slang meaning of the word "dyke" in some dialects.[2]
In April 2026, the bar's owners asked for financial support from the public via a fundraising campaign.[5] This fundraiser had an initial goal of $4,000 which was later raised to $12,500.[5] As of 25 September 2026 the fundraiser had reached 81% of its target.[6] The money is intended to pay the venue's rent, pay staff, support maintenance and repairs, and purchase an air purifier.[6]
As of September 2026, Matellian was the only founder left operating the venue.[7]
Mission and atmosphere
[edit]Last Ditch describes its mission in terms of community care, mutual aid, and opposition to discrimination. Its stated clientele includes "dykes, transsexuals, gender freaks, workers, and their friends." The venue has stated that poor and unhoused people are welcome at no cost and that police are not permitted inside the venue.[8][9]. The bar is run through a mix of paid and volunteer labor.[6]
Through its free store, the bar provides clothes, safer sex supplies, information about harm reduction, COVID-19 related personal protective equipment, and LGBTQ literature.[4] The bar also has a native plant garden.[10]
The bar is located in a basement beneath a Mexican restaurant.[11] Becca Williams of Go Magazine described the interior of the bar as having an "eclectic, quirky feel", highlighting the varied furniture and decor.[4] Carolyn Brown of the Daily Hampshire Gazette described it as a "quirky hodgepodge".[2] The bar's owners sourced its furnishings through Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and items they found discarded at the side of the road.[2]
Prior use of the venue
[edit]In July 2016, Wendell Rheinheimer and Shana Totino first opened a music venue in the space named The Root Cellar.[12][1] Sarah Lanzillotta and Paul LaBrecque then took on the venue in 2019, renaming it 10 Forward as a tribute to the bar on the USS Enterprise in the science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation.[12] Ang Buxton and Alex Noonan then became the venue's owners in 2022.[12] At this time, the venue was "largely guided by the community" with the support of both paid workers and volunteers.[12]
10 Forward had hosted karaoke nights, film events, queer networking events, raves, and DJ-ing classes.[13] The venue had also positioned itself as an LGBTQ-friendly space.[13] 10 Forward closed in 2024, shortly after Majestic Saloon, an LGBTQ+ bar in Northampton, had shut down.[14]
Mask policy
[edit]In September 2026, the bar made national headlines over a mask policy controversy.
History of the bar's mask policy
[edit]The previous venue management, when the venue had operated as 10 Forward, had been in favor of attendees wearing face masks to reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19.[13] The venue had also installed a HEPA filter air purifier.[13]
When Last Ditch Bar opened in 2025, the venue's mask policy required patrons to wear a well-fitted KN95 mask or better, unless they were eating, drinking, or performing.[2][8]
Policy change controversy
[edit]In August 2026, Last Ditch announced that Saturday nights would become mask-optional while retaining its masking requirement on other nights due to a decline in patrons and revenue.[8]
The policy change generated controversy among certain patrons and some members of the local queer community. Critics expressed concerns about its effect on immunocompromised and disabled patrons, while the venue said that the change was motivated by financial difficulties and the need to attract additional customers.[8][15] More charged responses to the policy change included statements that the bar was "pandering to capitalism" and "white supremacy" while being complicit in a "mass disabling event".[16]
On September 3, the bar shared an apology for how it had announced the changes.[17] The bar said that the policy change had been decided after meeting with members of the community, business advisers, and elders.[17] In this statement, the bar reaffirmed its commitment to accessibility.[17]
On September 11, the bar held a community meeting to discuss the policy change. One patron, attending by video link, accused the remaining owner, who had grown tearfully emotional, of deploying what the patron referred to as "white they/them tears" as an ostensibly racist and manipulative tactic.[8] The remaining bar owner had became emotional while discussing the financial and personal burdens of running the bar alone, saying that her credit was damaged, she had lived in her truck for six months while putting money into the business, was working four jobs, and was responsible for repaying a $50,000 loan taken out by the three founders.[8]
The controversy received national attention in September 2026, including coverage in The Boston Globe, National Review, New York Post, and The Free Press.[18][19][20] As the controversy gained increasing public attention, owners and workers from other nearby businesses expressed their support for the bar and its decision to alter its masking policy.[5] On September 24, the bar issued a statement on Instagram, telling community members to "expect more details in the future" and decrying purported harassment against the patron who had accused the remaining owner of manipulation.[21]
Commentary
[edit]The mask policy change controversy resulted in a range of think pieces and commentary.[22][23][24] Alex Bollinger, writing in LGBTQ Nation, said that "One thing that stood out in the Last Ditch story is how often the bar's critics relied on strained accusations of racism and ableism to both get their way and to silence those who disagreed with them."[25]
Writing in The Guardian, Arwa Mahdawi reflected on the public attention surrounding the policy change and said that "Stories of progressives leaning into all the most extreme stereotypes are guaranteed to be turned into parables of why leftists are self-absorbed drama queens who can't get anything done."[7] Rebecca Spiess of The Boston Globe said that the bar's critics "have mastered an ability to leverage identity politics into cudgels to smash people with."[26] Writing for Xtra Magazine, nonbinary journalist Oliver Haug argued that the story "should have never left the group chat" and would likely "lead to internet-bullying campaigns and pit already-marginalized people against one another".[27]
In The Atlantic, Helen Lewis described the mediation process as involving what she termed a “mimophant."[23] This is an individual with “the hide of an elephant when criticizing others, but the delicate skin of a mimosa flower when criticized themselves.” She applied the term to a complaining patron who, she wrote, emphasized his own feelings of “pain” while criticizing the owner for becoming emotional after sustained criticism. Lewis cited the patron's objection that the owner had “go[ne] overtime and cry[ied] for three minutes,” and his later description of participating in the dispute as “emotional and physical labor” that exposed him to “harm.”[23]
City Council President Lora Wondolowski expressed concern about how the media attention would affect the bar.[5] She said, "We don't want this to make people rethink making a commitment to this community."[5] The Western Massachusetts Club of the Communist Party USA issued a statement condemning the negative media attention that the bar had received.[5]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 Maiuri, Ken. "Ken Maiuri's Clubland: The Root Cellar to hold grand-opening weekend". Retrieved 24 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Brown, Carolyn (April 25, 2025). "Lesbian bar opens in Greenfield: Last Ditch is the new space for the Valley's queer community".
- 1 2 Tracer, Dan. "Western Mass Poised To Get Its First Lesbian Bar". Retrieved 24 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 Williams, Becca. "New Lesbian Bar Finally Opens In Western Massachusetts". Retrieved 24 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Schofield, Madison; Hoffman, Erin-Leigh; Marietta, Aalianna. "Greenfield takes stock of viral attention: Businesses, officials weigh in after coverage of lesbian bar Last Ditch takes national spotlight". Retrieved 25 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 Rodriguez, Mathew. "Massachusetts Lesbian Bar Last Ditch Finally Responds to Its Viral Moment". Retrieved 25 September 2026.
- 1 2 Mahdawi, Arwa. "#NotAllLesbians – we can't let the Massachusetts bar drama turn us all into a punchline". TheGuardian.com. Retrieved 24 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Quinn, Annalisa (September 22, 2026). "Greenfield lesbian bar Last Ditch faces mask-rule backlash" – via The Boston Globe.
- ↑ "Lesbian Bar's Mask Mandate Sparks Online Backlash". Newsweek. Retrieved 24 September 2026.
- ↑ Hoddeson, Spencer. "A lesbian bar went mask-optional one night a week to make rent. the internet called it eugenics". Retrieved 25 September 2026.
- ↑ Arsenault, Mark. "Saturday Night at the Massachusetts Lesbian Bar Everyone Is Talking About". Retrieved 27 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 Levavi, Bella. "Community-driven music venue under new ownership in Greenfield". Retrieved 24 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 Lawless, Kate. ""Client Focus: 10 Forward"". Retrieved 24 September 2026.
- ↑ Cauterucci, Christina (25 September 2026). "The Real Lesson to Take From the Viral Lesbian-Bar-Meltdown Story". Slate. Retrieved 27 September 2026.
- ↑ Hauser, Brooke (September 24, 2026). "Last Ditch in Greenfield went viral. Its patrons weren't prepared" – via The Boston Globe.
- ↑ Genualdo, K. J. "What Is The 'Last Ditch Bar Mask-Optional Drama'? The Lesbian Bar Controversy That Became A Viral Internet Spectacle Explained". Retrieved 25 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 I., Isabella. "This Lesbian Bar Changed Its Mask Rules, and Patrons Are Not Happy". Retrieved 25 September 2026.
- ↑ "What's the Best Line in the Boston Globe Lesbian Bar Story?". National Review. September 23, 2026.
- ↑ Herzog, Katie (September 23, 2026). "Massachusetts lesbian bar nearly bullied out of town after lifting mask mandate for one night". New York Post. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
- ↑ Herzog, Katie. "What Happened at the Long-Covid Lesbian Bar?". www.thefp.com.
- ↑ Rodriguez, Mathew (25 September 2026). "Massachusetts Lesbian Bar Last Ditch Finally Responds to Its Viral Moment". Them. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
- ↑ Phetasy, Bridget (September 23, 2026). "Lesbian bar mask madness shows 'woke 1.0' never really died — and 'woke 2.0' is even worse". New York Post. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
- 1 2 3 Lewis, Helen (September 25, 2026). "How to Destroy a Lesbian Bar". The Atlantic.
- ↑ McArdle, Megan (September 27, 2026). "The Great Awokening is over. This lesbian bar shows why". The Washington Post.
- ↑ Bollinger, Alex. "4 reasons why everyone is talking about the lesbian bar mask drama in Massachusetts". Retrieved 24 September 2026.
- ↑ Spiess, Rebecca. "Progressives have been obnoxious for a long time. Just ask the lesbian bar". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 25 September 2026.
- ↑ Haug, Oliver (2026-09-24). "The lesbian bar discourse should have never left the group chat". Xtra Magazine. Retrieved 2026-09-26.