2023-10-15 15:58:13
It’s an understatement to say that the LGBT community was waiting for the opening of a gay bar in Luxembourg. Of course, there is no shortage of “gay-friendly” places in the country and in the Greater Region. Obviously, Luxembourg nights remain lively from dusk to dawn in a few rare clubs (we think in particular of the Lenox in Ville Haute). But, since the closure of the “Bar Rouge” at the end of 2020, a year following the disappearance of its emblematic manager, the capital has been looking for an HQ.
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Opened mid-September at number 60 of the Grand-Rue, in a discreet space a little set back from the hubbub of the commercial artery, “Lëtz Boys” claims to be a “gay bar open to all gays and their friends without discrimination” . And carries within him the desire to socially reweave the homosexual community. “We no longer had a place to ‘date’,” notes Mikael, one of the two partners. “In the 2010s, attendance at LGBT bars fell due to the boom in dating apps and sites. However, these tools do not create a link.”
It is on this register that Lëtz Boys wants to draw attention. “There was a lot of demand from the community. There was a lack of a place to meet up to unwind, a meeting place to come alone or accompanied, to meet a familiar face… and have fun listening to Madonna or Britney!” says Ben, the co-manager.
Ben, both bartender and project associate. © PHOTO: Marc Wilwert
Subdued pink atmosphere, and walls decorated ephemerally by the works of the young artist Amaury Mussfeldt. © PHOTO: Marc Wilwert
Sobriety and character on the bar side, with seats upholstered in green velvet. © PHOTO: Marc Wilwert
Under the disco ball suspended from the ceiling and provided for this purpose, he and Mikael discuss what might seem like an anomaly: the disappearance of gay bars in the capital of a country where the head of government is married to a man . “Luxembourg is a very benevolent country,” the duo immediately qualifies. “We are very lucky here. No, the big obstacle is the rents.
And Mikael recalls the very essence of such an adventure: the entrepreneurial spirit. “Friends have tried to open gay bars. But it is an authentic financial project. Plus, you should know that people swear by the city center. Everywhere else, it’s more complicated to hope to build notoriety and attract regular customers.” To give themselves the means and open the doors of this bar, the pair only needed a few months…
It all started in a TER…
The story of Lëtz Boys surprisingly began in a TER heading to France, at the end of 2022. The two cross-border workers found themselves there by chance years following their meeting. “I have a project in mind, opening a gay bar in town. Do you know someone who might be interested?” asks Mikael. “Well yes, me,” Ben replies, amused. A fairly natural “deal” was born that day.
Without going so far as to confine Ben behind the bar to concoct his cocktails, and Mikael in the throes of the business plan, the complementarity of the pair is obvious. The first has been working in the hospitality industry since the age of 14, and in the bar scene since the age of 18. It was thanks to their network that the pair found the premises on Grand-Rue in three months with a accommodating owner. The second, in Luxembourg since 2015, had been working in finance for eight years when the Lëtz Boys idea convinced him to abandon the private equity.
Lëtz Boys can accommodate up to 80 people. It is open Wednesday to Saturday from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. And Sunday from 3 to 10 p.m. © PHOTO: Marc Wilwert
Without going so far as to confine Ben behind the bar to concoct his cocktails, and Mikael in the throes of the business plan, the complementarity of the pair is obvious. The first has been working in the hospitality industry since the age of 14, and in the bar scene since the age of 18. It was thanks to their network that the pair found the premises on Grand-Rue in three months with a accommodating owner. The second, in Luxembourg since 2015, had been working in finance for eight years when the Lëtz Boys idea convinced him to abandon the private equity.
The spring and summer of 2023 have passed, and so has the bulk of the paperwork. The administrative inherent in the beginnings of such a project has partly given way to more enjoyable stages since the inauguration on September 16: thematic evenings in particular, like this “drag bingo” hosted this Sunday, October 15 by drag queens. There is therefore no longer any real question of a project for Lëtz Boys. Now it’s concrete. Drinks, relaxation, fun, good company… The daily life of a bar. The daily life of a gay bar.
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