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Historic LGBTQ bar and nightclub to reopen in Detroit

Aleanna Siacon
Detroit Free Press
Managing Owner Doug Keller at the new Backstreet Multiplex at Large on Livernois Avenue. The new site is expected to open either the second or third week of May, but there are several touches that will pay homage to it's original location on Joy and Greenfield. The Backstreet Nightclub mirror at the bar is from the initial site.

Backstreet, a storied venue in Detroit's LGBTQ bar scene, is making its return in a new location next month when the historic nightclub reopens on Livernois as the Backstreet at Large Multiplex.

Managing owner Doug Keller, 42, told the Free Press that he and co-owner Stephan Richardson, 32, are still waiting for the city to complete inspections but are expecting to officially open their doors during the second or third week of May. The actual date will be announced on the club's Facebook page. 

While some renovations are ongoing, Keller said a soft opening night held March 23 was a "big success," drawing more than 900 people. 

"I want to create a space — yes, I'm aiming towards the LGBT community — but I want to create a space (where) it doesn't matter your race, your sexual orientation, your age, nothing. You walk in the door and you feel at home," Keller said.

It's been a nostalgic venture for Keller, who has come full circle.

He started out working at the original Backstreet on Joy and Greenfield, doing everything from bartending to just lending a hand. 

"I went there almost every Wednesday and Saturday growing up as a gay boy," Keller said. "I was there all the time. I knew everybody that went there."

This new venture started when he was approached by one of the bar's previous owners, Dr. Thomas Moses, after the current owner died.

Keller said he and Richardson bought the Backstreet around the end of November, moved everything out of the Joy Road building and closed on their new location in January.

"It's going to be different than the original one, obviously because times change, but I want everybody that knew it and was a part of it to be proud. Including Carl (Rippberger), the original owner. He was ahead of his time," Keller said. 

And fittingly, Keller said Rippberger's original slogan for the bar and nightclub was "Lightyears ahead of the rest," and he plans to have the phrase on everything from T-shirts and their Facebook page to the exterior sign. 

According to the news outlet Pride Source, Rippberger originally owned the bar with Joel Yoder and purchased the first building in 1979

What to expect inside

"We have what I call walls, that you can collapse and put up," Keller said. "So you can divide it up into three different venues, or you can open it up and make one large venue."

A view of the bar at the new Backstreet Multiplex at Large on Livernois Avenue. The new site is expected to open either the second or third week of May.

The Bolton Cafe inside the multiplex is also named in tribute. Keller said it refers to the building itself, which was originally the Bolton Cafe & Bar in the 1920s.

The cafe will feature a full menu. Keller added that the plan is to have $1 tacos on Thursdays. 

Keller also plans to pay homage to the bar's history with mementos decorating the new establishment. 

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"I actually found 10-year anniversary T-shirts from 1989 up in the loft, and I'm hanging them up in the bar. I also found free cover coupons from the '90s and '80s, and I want to hang them up, too. And I'm trying to collect a lot of pictures from people that had went there, because I want to make a wall of pictures," he said. 

The Backstreet Nightclub mirror from the original site also is on display over the new bar. 

The Backstreet at Large Multiplex will be composed of the Backstreet bar, the Bolton Cafe and a banquet area called Backpocket, Keller said. 

The evolving LGBTQ bar scene 

Over the years, Detroit's LGBTQ's bar scene has undergone many changes and pivotal moments. According to a 2018 Pride Source article, drag entertainer Torchy said there were about "45 gay bars and five steam baths" in the 1970s.

Today, Keller said, the Backstreet at Large Multiplex will be among just a half-dozen that still operate in the city.

A view of the bar at the new Backstreet Multiplex at Large on Livernois Avenue. The new site is expected to open either the second or third week of May.

Many of the bars still operating, such as Menjos on West McNichols, Gigi's on West Warren and others, came about around the same time that the original Backstreet opened.

The oldest LGBT bar, Keller said, is the Woodward Bar & Grill which, according to Pride Source, has been a popular LGBT-serving establishment since as early as the 1960s. 

Keller said recreating the Backstreet isn't just about looking back so much as looking forward.

"In that era we didn't have Grindr, we didn't have all these apps, and it wasn't as socially accepted," Keller said.

"(Now) you can go to any bar and hold hands, and nobody flinches or cares, because it's more liberating. So, you have to change with the times. That's where I want to let anybody and everybody in. Yes, it's an LGBT bar, but. ... I want everybody welcome and to feel welcome."

Contact Aleanna Siacon: ASiacon@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @AleannaSiacon.