Amid the businesses along Government Boulevard in Mobile sits a bar called “Herz.” On the outside, it may not look like much, but it’s the patrons on the inside who make it a rarity among American bars.
Herz is a lesbian bar -- according to one group it’s the only lesbian bar in Alabama and one of less than two dozen still standing in the United States.
According to the Lesbian Bar Project, a group that aims to bring awareness to the lack of lesbian bars across the country, there were roughly over 200 lesbian bars in the U.S. in the 1980s. Several factors have contributed to their rapid disappearance, but the project was founded as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“As we enter a post-pandemic era, we want to continue to spotlight the unique challenges lesbian bars face as they seek to not only reopen, but prosper,” Erica Rose, co-director of The Lesbian Bar Project, said in a release.
Herz was established in 2019 by Sheila and Rachel Smallman, a couple that simply wanted to embark on a new endeavor and to fill a need for lesbians.
“I’ve been in law enforcement for multiple years,” Sheila said. “I just wanted a fresh start. Something new, something different.”
Rachel and Sheila Smallman, owners of Herz, pose for a portrait inside the bar. Herz is the only lesbian bar in Alabama, and one of just several across the country.
There are already a handful of gay bars in Mobile, but Rachel points out that they aren’t always places designed for lesbians to feel at home.
“Even though we have such a vast community here in Mobile, they’ve never had a meeting place where they felt comfortable, because you can go to the average gay bar, and it’s kind of male-driven,” Rachel said. “With (the LGBTQ+ community) being so vast with different types of people, having this spot here where you can come and just be yourself, whoever yourself is, this has been a real step up for them.”
Despite the low numbers, the founders of Herz had no clue there were so few lesbian bars when they decided to open. In fact, they admit, the Smallmans may not have even opened Herz if they knew how few there were.
“I think that if I would have known that going in, I would have been apprehensive,” Rachel said. “I’m so glad that we didn’t know that going in. Because we came into saying, ‘Okay, it’s just a bar, you know. It’s a bar for us.’”
The Lesbian Bar Project, while a reminder that their bar is one of few, has provided a support group for Sheila and Rachel. In fact, Rachel says that all of the remaining bar owners keep in touch with one another.
“We all connected and it’s like a family. We have a chain message that has gone on ever since we met,” she said. “It’s really brought us together, even nationwide.”
The Project released a short documentary June 3 featuring a few of the bars, including Herz, to start a dialogue about the remaining bars and bring awareness to them.
“We aim to tell the personal stories of the lesbian bar owners, patrons and community activists who have been working tirelessly to save the sacred spaces in their local communities over the past year,” Elina Street, co-director of the Lesbian Bar Project, said in a release. “The documentary spotlights their hopes for the future, but also takes a look back at the safe spaces that influenced the queer community throughout history.”
Herz is one of the only lesbian bars in the South, and while some may see operating a space for LGBTQ+ folks in the conservative South as a challenge, the Smallmans see it as their strength.
“People admire Southern people,” Rachel said. “When you come into Herz, the first thing you’re going to get is a, ‘Hey, how you doing?’ and the next thing you’re going to get is a hug.”
“It’s clean, there’s no empty glasses, there’s no trash on the floor, inside or out. I just can’t be still because I want you to come back, the next day and the next day and the next day,” Sheila said in the documentary.
Having first-class service is important to them, but they also care about being a space for queer people to express themselves safely and confidently. For instance, Rachel reflects on a Pride Month drag queen and king show, which they call “Swag Shows,” and their transgender social night.
“The night of our show, it was electric in here, you know, everybody was so full of pride,” she said. “You could just see them coming out as themselves, you know. I don’t think they can actually just walk into a bar dressed as themselves and be accepted the way they were here.”
Pride Month may be over, but the Smallmans are clear that Pride never ends in Herz.
“Pride month was awesome,” Rachel said. “You know, I felt that sense of pride, and I think that we should feel that way every day. Not just during June or July, but show that pride every day. Bring your communities together every day like it’s Pride Month, and it will be so much stronger.”