Knoxville tennessee gay bars

A year anniversary is an impressive feat in business. This story, admittedly, landed in our lap. The owner reached out after reading an unrelated business anniversary piece, a type of story that works for any type of establishment or institution with a major milestone. You see them all the time. But as Knox News reporter Keenan Thomas began meeting more people, reading more stories and digging into the history of gay bars in America, it was evident: Club XYZ isn't just any business.

Can you start out by sharing how the year anniversary of Club XYZ got on your radar? It actually started with Southside Garage reaching out to me because they were celebrating their fifth anniversary, and I included it in a roundup of other restaurant news with the knowledge from you there was a chance other businesses might reach out about their own anniversaries.

The owner of Club XYZ, Richard Cameron, read the story and realized, "Hey, it's our 20th anniversary this year in ," and he reached out. Can you share how this piece evolved over time? I interviewed the owner, Richard Cameron, to start the process, but afterwards the story flip-flopped between concepts and formats.

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At times, it was going to be shorter, just focusing on the business. Other times, it was going to be longer. Our photographer Caitie McMekin worked extensively with Richard ineven producing a mini-documentary that we included online. So, just getting to understand him first and what he's cultivated at Club XYZ was very illuminating.

What that led to was bar more broadly I know part of the reporting process also involved just going to Club XYZ as a customer to experience it firsthand. When you walked away, what was your impression of what makes this place so special on any given night? It was one of the best nights out I've had in a long time.

It was just so fun seeing the amazing, engaging and very funny drag gay. I later went up and complimented them. It was genuinely incredible. It never seemed like there was a worry it would go away, right? It was kind of comforting in a way just to know that it was still there. Per Mattson's studies and one of the quotes he gave me, a gay bar that has made it to 20 years should be celebrated because that is an accomplishment.

It felt like community in a way that I don't think you always get with other bars knoxville Knoxville. Echoing what they talked about with my own observations, it is for everybody. You could be a gay tennessee, a lesbian woman, a transgender person, a bicurious person or a straight ally and feel like Club XYZ is home. And that was something that really struck me.

Keenan Thomas is a higher education reporter.