Leon’s of Baltimore, a gay bar in Baltimore’s Mount Vernon neighborhood, and its adjacent sister bar, Leon’s Backroom, will reopen today, September 30, after abruptly closing earlier this year.
Known as Baltimore’s oldest gay bar, Leon’s has operated since the 1950s. It last opened its doors on July 15 for a special shift before temporarily closing following the death of longtime owner Ron Singer.
Before closing, the bars operated seven days a week, from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m., and touted never charging a cover on their website. Leon’s and Leon’s Backroom — with entrances on Park Avenue and Chase Street — regularly hosted karaoke nights, drag shows, bingo nights, and viewing parties, and offered daily happy hour drink specials from 4 to 9 p.m.
The bars’ absence was especially felt by Mount Vernon’s LGBTQ community, which over the past decades has lost venues such as The Hippo and Grand Central. While other gay bars exist in the city, they are few and far between and largely situated outside the traditional Mount Vernon “gayborhood.”
As reported by The Baltimore Banner, Samm Singer, Ron Singer’s youngest child, inherited Leon’s with her three siblings and will run it with her husband, longtime bartender Sam Smith.
Smith said the Singer siblings had hoped to reopen the bar weeks ago, but renewing each permit proved time-consuming. He also said that he and his wife plan to purchase the bar from her siblings, although the process may take some time.
Happy hour drink prices will remain the same from 4 to 9 p.m., while prices during regular hours will increase by a dollar, according to Smith.
“I probably will tear up because it’s going to be awesome seeing everybody again,” Smith told The Banner. “It’s been a long few months.”
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