Since 1978, The Closet video bar co-owners Rose Pohl and Judi Petrouski (who are both lesbians) have provided a space for the LGBTQ+ community and their allies to gather at its location at 3325 N. Broadway in the Northalsted neighborhood.
Now Pohl, 82, and Petrouski, 77, have decided to retire and hand over the reins to the new owner Jay Bell who also recently bought both Bobby Loves, 3729 N. Halsted St., and Fantasy Nightclub, 3641 N. Halsted St. Bell told Pohl and Petrovsky that all staff would remain in their jobs and the only minor change is technological upgrades.
A packed house of supporters and former employees bid Pohl and Petrouski farewell at an Aug. 18 (their last day of ownership) celebration at The Closet.
In a 2007 interview with Chicago Gay History, Pohl said she came out in her early twenties, while Petrouski said she knew she was a lesbian in high school. Pohl spoke about the lack of lesbian-focused bars in Chicago during the ‘70s, with Lost and Found being one of a few exceptions as well as the police raids that forced some bars to close down and new ones to open up afterward. Petrovsky recalled that she wasn’t really a bar person until they bought The Closet.
Pohl also told Chicago Gay History that she had worked at The Closet (previously called Digby) for about four years when the owner said she wanted to sell the bar, and asked her if she was interested in buying it. She said by then she and Petrouski were good friends so they joined forces to buy the bar.
Petrouski added that at first they didn’t have any goals for The Closet except for staying in business, and added that it has always been a down-to-earth neighborhood bar where everyone is welcome.
When Pohl and Petrouski became the co-owners, The Closet was one of the few spaces where queer women could gather in safety and not have to code-switch or dress in a conformist way. Most people have called The Closet a lesbian bar even though it has served everyone in the queer/trans community for its entire existence.
The Closet was also a place for LGBTQ+ people to meet after ACT-UP meetings and protest actions as well as memorials at the height of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the 1980s and 1990s.
Pohl said in her Chicago Gay History interview that she lost a lot of gay friends, including her very good friend Larry Miller, to AIDS and it hit her like a gigantic wave. Petrouski added that it was devastating to the community.
Over the years, The Closet has sponsored local sports teams, featured many events and is always decorated with Christmas lights year-round.
Patron and former employee Sue Croke, a.k.a. SueWho, said of her time at The Closet, “I started going there almost at its beginning. It was so nice to have a late night bar, with a mix of gay and lesbian patrons, since most bars weren’t that way. The 1980’s were rough, with so many perishing from AIDS, but The Closet became a place of comfort and understanding for our community to gather.
Photos by Photo by Vern Hester
“And it always remained a happening place. I worked there from June 2018 to June 2019, where after 43 yrs behind the bar at The Closet and before that Paris Dance and Scot’s, I felt it was time to retire and let some young blood take up the mantle and Kaitlyn filled that space well I wish the new owner much success!”
Heartland Alliance Health Northside Food Program Founder Lori Cannon said, “I salute two giants who responded to the early days of HIV/AIDS when so few would. Rosie and Judi came to Open Hand in the early 1990s volunteering to deliver meals to homebound, low income AIDS patients. These women made it clear from day one: They only wanted to serve our women with children. Sounded good to me, so off they would go in Rosie’s jeep to East Garfield Park, Lawndale and Austin among other neighborhoods each week, each month, each year. Always on time, cheerful and eager.
Photos by Vern Hester
