QUEENS — The first gay bar in Forest Hills, which is slated to open on Austin Street next week, will host weekend brunches featuring loud music, an upbeat atmosphere and possibly hookah, the owner said.
The bar and lounge, called Pride, will also serve as a watering hole, said Georgios Aspiotis, 40, who also owns Corfu Grill, a Greek restaurant on Austin Street.
“There is a large gay community in Forest Hills and Kew Gardens, but there is no gay bar in the area,” Aspiotis said.
Aspiotis said that recent changes, such as legalizing gay marriage in New York, and Christine Quinn, the first openly gay candidate to run for mayor, encouraged him to open the bar.
“It was time to do it,” he said.
The bar, as first reported by Edge of the City, will open in the spot previously used by Common Space, a tapas bar, which closed earlier this year.
Aspiotis said he would like Pride to be an upscale place. "It will be very classy," he said, adding that the walls will be painted gold and black.
The bar will be located in a retail building where there is already a Mexican restaurant, a clothing store, as well as Aspiotis' Greek restaurant, which will share its kitchen with the new bar.
The venue will also feature a backyard in the summertime, the owner said.
Pride will be located at 70-15 Austin St. in Forest Hills.
