LGBTQ Hospitality Group Acquires 49% of Pitchers and ALOHO
HV Entertainment, which is focused on keeping LGBTQ spaces in community hands, has partnered with owner Dave Perruzza as it expands into D.C.
HV Entertainment, the LGBTQ hospitality group behind several nationwide nightlife venues, has partnered with longtime D.C. bar operator Dave Perruzza to acquire a minority stake in Pitchers, the LGBTQ sports bar in Adams Morgan, and its adjoining lesbian bar, A League of Her Own.
The partnership brings both bars into the HV Entertainment family — marking the company’s entry into the D.C. market — while keeping Perruzza involved through the transition. Under the deal, HV Entertainment acquires 49% of Pitchers and ALOHO, while Perruzza retains 51%. HV Entertainment has an option to buy his remaining stake.
The complex at 2317 18th St. NW opened in 2018 and has hosted drag shows, trivia nights, and sports league-affiliated events. It has also served as a gathering spot on game days. Pitchers has a kitchen and serves food.
A League of Her Own, meanwhile, is one of fewer than three dozen bars in the United States dedicated exclusively to lesbian and sapphic communities — a draw for HV Entertainment as it seeks to expand its portfolio.
“Getting to be part of Pitchers and A League of Her Own is a real honor, and coming into D.C. is something we have wanted to do for a long time,” Arthur Hood, co-owner of HV Entertainment, said in a statement. “We are not here to change what already works. We are here to listen, to learn what this community needs and wants, and to put our resources behind keeping these doors open for a long time. Having a true lesbian bar in our family means a great deal to us. There are so few of them left, and protecting that is exactly why we do this.”
“I built these bars for our community, and finding the right partner mattered more to me than anything else,” Perruzza said in a statement. “HV gets it. They own and run these kinds of spaces the right way, and I know Pitchers and A League of Her Own are in good hands as we grow together.”
The hospitality group, owned by Hood and his husband, Erwing Villanueva, has a number of LGBTQ-specific bars in Atlanta, Chicago, and Dallas in its portfolio, including the Atlanta Eagle, the Chicago Eagle, Bobby Love’s, The Closet, The Belmont/Decibel, Fantasy Nightclub, Woody’s, Roy G’s, and Rockwall Tavern.
Marc Buehler of HV Entertainment told Metro Weekly that the hospitality group will have operational control over both bars.
“Dave has basically handed us the reins to say, ‘Hey, look, I’m tired. It’s time for somebody else to do this,'” Buehler says. “We have a very good relationship with Dave, and he’s pretty much given us carte blanche to run the business.”
Buehler says there are no immediate plans for sweeping changes at Pitchers and ALOHO. Both bars will continue to operate as usual, with the same staff — approximately 33 people on the payroll, including kitchen staff, security, and part-time employees.
HV Entertainment’s primary concern is preserving the character of the venues it takes on and keeping LGBTQ-specific spaces in the community’s hands while providing the operational support and programming they need for long-term stability, Buehler said.
Any future changes to Pitchers and ALOHO will be tailored to the community’s wants and needs, he stressed.
“We are not married to the same cookie-cutter concept anywhere,” he says. “We actually keep our locations very autonomous, so that they can run their own programming that fits the local market. The way we see it, this is D.C.’s bar. It is not our bar. We’re just the stewards. And we have the opportunity to really provide the space and the capital to do some really fun and exciting things in the community, and to be a hub.”
Pitchers is one of the few LGBTQ-focused businesses on the 18th Street strip, far from the center of the city’s LGBTQ nightlife. Buehler says HV Entertainment hopes to make it a “go-to” location.
“We have to build a bar where people want to come,” he says. “We also have the restaurant component, and that’s unique. So actually having food is a real positive for us. I think that ‘If you build it, they will come,’ but you have to execute and do it well. So it boils down to operations, making sure we’re staffed, and the team has what they need to be successful, whether that’s programming, capital, or reinvestment in remodel dollars. There’s all sorts of opportunities.”
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