A Tale Of Two Cubbyholes & Lesbian Bar Lineage
Located at 281 West 12th Street at the corner of West 4th in Manhattan's West Village, Cubbyhole is considered the oldest lesbian bar in NYC, having first opened at the location in 1987 under the name DT's Fat Cat. Despite its diminutive, less-than 1,000 square foot size, Cubbyhole has steadfastly remained one of New York City's most beloved and frequently patronized queer spaces, packing in wall-to-wall people under its perpetually festive piñata and ornament-festooned ceiling.
Cubbyhole was initially opened under the name DT's Fat Cat at 281 West 12th Street in 1987 by owners and operators Tanya Saunders and Debbie Fierro. While Cubby was known primarily as a lesbian bar and for its importance to the lesbian community, Saunders and Fierro envisioned it from the start as an inclusive refuge for all patrons when they opened the bar and it has consistently felt like a warm, welcoming space to anyone who's ever stepped inside. I can speak on my own behalf when I say that Cubbyhole is perhaps the first queer space I ever visited in which I felt fully comfortable in my own skin.
Though I had already frequented several gay men’s clubs in the city like Splash and Rush after coming out my freshman year of college, it wasn’t until my sophomore year when my two lesbian pals Chloe and Mallaigh (we called ourselves the Three Muskequeers) dragged me to Cubby so that they could go and meet girls. Still not quite sure where I fit into that equation—a wingman perhaps? But, alas I was the one who fell in love that fateful night. There I could talk to queer people of all kinds, connect over shared but different experiences, and learn how to be comfortable with my homosexuality, all without feeling the pressure of needing to strip off my shirt or going home with a guy. And Cubbyhole still feels like a cozy home for me, over a decade later.
What many people don’t know when they step into the chaotically ornamented Cubbyhole, however, is that Cubbyhole in its current iteration was in fact, not the first Cubbyhole. In 1994, Saunders actually bought the name 'Cubbyhole' from her friend Elaine Romagnoli, who had owned and operated The Cubby Hole (two words), a lesbian bar located at 438 Hudson Street that closed in 1990. Romagnoli herself had been a lesbian nightlife legend in the city, having been the force behind several other lesbian bars in the city, including Bonnie & Clyde’s in the ‘70s and Crazy Nanny’s in the ‘90s, along with several other spots.
The original Cubby Hole opened circa 1981, shortly after Bonnie & Clyde’s shuttered, and the bar got its name because the space itself was tiny—360 square-feet in all (approx. 12’ x 30’). The bar was dark and without decoration, and would get quite smoky inside, given the fact that smoking was still allowed in bars and the bar itself was, well, a literal cubbyhole. Cubby Hole patrons would enter into the middle of the space, with the bar on the right and a mingling area on the left (too small to be called a dance floor, though people did dance). By 1989, a video screen was added to the space that played music videos—a new attraction for that era.
Stormé DeLarverie, now a notable figure in the LGBTQ community, actually worked at Cubby Hole as a security guard and bouncer. For those not in the know, DeLarverie was a butch lesbian of color whose scuffle with police was, according to DeLarverie and many eyewitnesses, the spark that ignited the Stonewall uprising, spurring the crowd to action. She is known by many as "the Rosa Parks of the gay community”, but pre-Stonewall, DeLarverie had a long and incredible career as a male impersonator in the Jewel Box Revue, which included performances at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.
Romagnoli ultimately closed the original Cubby Hole in 1990, and moved on to open her next venture, Crazy Nanny’s. Interestingly enough, the Cubby Hole space then became another lesbian bar, Henrietta Hudson, which is still in operation today. Lisa Cannistraci, who had bartended at Cubby Hole since March 1985, bartended at Crazy Nanny’s before going on to reopen 438 Hudson Street with her partner, Minnie Rivera, as the much-expanded Henrietta Hudson in 1991. DeLarverie, meanwhile, continued working as a security guard there.
The new Cubbyhole (one word) was christened thus in 1994, when owner Tanya Saunders changed her bar’s name with the permission and blessing of Romagnoli. Saunders had previously worked in advertising and real estate, but in 1987 decided to open a piano bar. She took over the lease of a bar called 12th Night at 281 West 12th Street and renamed the place DT’s Fat Cat. Originally intended to host live entertainment, it shifted into a jukebox joint and became a lesbian mecca. Lisa Menichino started working at Cubbyhole in the year 2000, and Saunders bequeathed the bar to her after her death in 2018. To date, Cubbyhole is still owned and operated by Menichino.
The narrow Cubbyhole is characterized by its heavily packed crowds, green walls, flagstone floor, jukebox and festively decorative ceiling. In fact, the iconic ceiling at Cubbyhole is perhaps its most defining feature: What began with souvenirs that patrons brought from their vacations, the ceiling's decor morphed into what NYMag has described as looking like Saunders had “raided a thrift shop the day after Mardi Gras.” In a 2004 profile on the bar, The Villager wrote that “combined with the soothing wall colors and dark wood of the bar, the thatch of Japanese lanterns, model airplanes, oversize goldfish (which match the covers on the bar stools), and at least one lobster suspended from the ceiling [make] the place look more like some sort of fantastic forest.”
In a 2020 article for Business Insider Stacy Lentz, co-owner of the Stonewall Inn, stated that she had been going to Cubbyhole for 20 years. "I love sitting here and talking to the average gay, lesbian, queer woman about the issues that affect that cause”, said Lentz, “I think a lot of our leaders don't have those conversations. They don't sit there and talk to somebody who's making under $30,000 a year." Lentz added what makes Cubbyhole so special: "To me, where Stonewall's an iconic amazing bar that I own and am happy to represent, this [Cubbyhole] was a very 'Cheers'-like neighborhood local, lesbian hang-out. Super friendly, this space lends itself to conversations because it's so small that you're going to interact, and you're going to talk, and you're going to meet people of all age ranges, women, people of color, trans women."
For many years, Cubbyhole has been almost single handedly holding down the fort for queer women in New York City. Up until 2022, it was one of only three remaining lesbian bars across the five boroughs of New York, with the others being Henrietta Hudson & Ginger's in Park Slope. Thankfully, times are a-changing, and several new spaces have popped up in the past year, including The Bush, Maite, Mary’s.
Patrons, meanwhile, will forever gush about Cubbyhole in their reviews:
Stephanie S: “This place [is] a colorful sanctuary for any member of the rainbow brigade. We stopped by for Monday Happy Hour and we were not disappointed. Deb, the bartender, was amazing and she made everyone feel welcome. We had some green tea shots for Miley Cyrus Mondays, had a slice of delicious free pizza, and finished off the Blue Moon draft beer (sorry, Deb). We will absolutely be back. Everyone should stop by and visit Deb.”
Cecile T: “I've been going here for over a decade. I feel safe, happy and welcome here. The guests are great and the staff is even better! Join in the family. The more LGBTQ people the better, that's why I feel safe here.”
Comments on my original IG post also showed the Cubby-love:
Kay Turner (kay__turner) wrote: “LOVE the Cub!”
Jackie Vingan (jving) loved seeing herself and her partner’s adorable photo included in the post: “It’s us!!! We love cubbyhole!!!@jamie_spock”.
Richard Brandt (richardamorybrandt), meanwhile, shared this incredibly precious story, which as the perfect encapsulation of Cubbyhole, I will end on: “My 80 year old mother (who was not a lesbian) had moved into an apartment one block down from the Cubbyhole. Within a month she was inside every Friday night. Everyone loved her and she loved them. It was a rather unbelievable thing to watch but it gave her gay son (me) so much PRIDE!!!❤️❤️❤️”
