Well-known LGBTQ bar in downtown Raleigh closes after 10 years
A popular LGBTQ bar in downtown Raleigh has permanently closed after 10 years.
Ruby Deluxe, which was located on South Salisbury Street, announced the news in a social media post on Friday, May 2.
“Thank you so very much for letting us serve and entertain you for the last 10 years,” the post read. “This Saturday’s Glitter Hour will be Ruby Deluxe’s last night. ... Glitter Hour isn’t done though. Keep an eye out.”
The people who owned Ruby Deluxe also have a stake in two other downtown Raleigh venues, The Wicked Witch and The Night Rider, which remain open.
Ruby Deluxe asks for financial help
Ruby Deluxe has been posting about its financial struggles for months.
In November, Ruby Deluxe shared on Instagram that it was “in big trouble,” and asked people to donate or attend its “Save the Queer Bar Party.”
“The reality is rent is steep and bills are ever increasing and the capitalist society we live in is not built for businesses that prioritize people and ethical operations,” Ruby Deluxe wrote in the November Instagram post. “We do our best to price accessibly for queer and medium to low income folks but the cost of running a business in Raleigh is made for upper income folks.”
According to the bar’s Instagram posts, Ruby Deluxe had to close the weekend after Halloween because the sewer line collapsed, which caused it to lose out on revenue for a time. Ruby Deluxe set a fundraising goal of $10,000, which it said would help cover costs of things like rent, bills and staff wages.
Representatives of the bar said that none of the funds would go to Ruby Deluxe ownership.
As of December, Ruby Deluxe reported that it had raised $8,472.
Ruby Deluxe owner makes headlines
Tim Lemuel, who owned Ruby Deluxe, made the news in June 2020 after a confrontation with Wake County sheriff’s deputies.
The officers used “less-lethal force” against Lemuel and some of his friends, who were outside the South Salisbury Street bar handing out water bottles and granola bars to people protesting police brutality.
Lemuel and the others were also at the business to deter vandals. The night before, the bar’s glass doors were bashed in, and a window was spray-painted with what appeared to be a white power symbol, Lemuel told The News & Observer at the time.
