The Den Celebrates Its 6th Birthday
Owners Paul Moore and Patrick Hipp say that the Den is a place to meet old friends and to make new ones. This is the policy that has led it to being known as “the friendliest gay bar in Fresno” and most of its regular patrons are quick to agree. This month the Den celebrates its 6th birthday with a party and show on Saturday, January 26, 2008.
A New Year's Eve celebration marked the transition from The Cave (as it was known then) to The Den and the doors were opened for business on January 9th, 2002 . The Den was to be Fresno's bear and leather bar, and as founding members of the Central Valley Motorcycle Chapter of the Knights of Malta and of the Golden State Bears, Paul and Patrick were well qualified to launch just such a project.
The atmosphere at the Den combines the ambience of bear and leather bars south of Market in San Francisco with the friendliness of “local” gay bars in Manhatten. A sign hangs above the bar telling everyone that there should be “NO PISSY ATTITUDES” and the management and staff work hard to make it a fun, laid-back place to relax and have a good time.
For the first five years of its existence, the Den served only beer and wine. That all changed with the acquisition of a hard liquor license in October of 2006. Together with the owners Paul and Patrick, the then manager David Coy strove to widen the circle of friends that regularly frequented the Den to include other parts of the LGBT community. Events sponsored by the Imperial Dove Court, TGIF, the Fresno Gay Men's Chorus and other groups began to be held in the expanded patio area. Sam Cisneros and Brian Kurtela (aka EZ and Sleezy) began producing their Freaky Friday Shows, adding a new dimension to the entertainment being provided.
David Coy's untimely death in June 2006, meant more changes and his successor, Rick Adamson used his theater background to expand and improve the stage and patio areas, making them even more inviting, providing an excellent venue for performers of all kinds of entertainment. A patio bar in the summer and a second serving station at the bar inside have speeded up the friendly service and more improvements are planned for the near future.
The anniversary party will include an IDC comedy show, “Grab-Bag-Drag”, food and cocktail specials. Paul and Patrick want to invite everyone to come and join them in celebrating on January 26th.
