Kingston’s new designated queer bar is finally here. Located in the old Beverly Lounge spot on Foxhall Avenue, Unicorn Bar had a three-phase opening over the past week. Things touched off with a friends-and-family soft opening last Thursday, April 25 before heating up with a spicy, sold-out burlesque show on Saturday, and a rollicking grand opening on Wednesday, May 1.
“The response has been overwhelmingly positive,” says local musician, event organizer, and bar owner Francesca Hoffman. “People are so grateful for a designated queer space. It’s been a humbling experience to just be a proprietor of this. It’s something I've wanted to do for so long, there is such a clear need.”
Hoffman worked Deb Parker on the bathrooms and with Kingston-based designer Brooke Lane to give fresh life to the bar’s interior, while maintaining gems like the historic bar and back bar. “Brooke came in and wanted to lean heavily into the Art Deco influences that were already in the space,” Hoffman says.
“She hit the ball out of the park. She ran stuff by me, but I really loved everything she picked. She incorporated all these fun elements like the leopard print and honored queer history, which was important to me. I also wanted this to be sex-positive space, that’s how we ended up with things like the vulva wallpaper, the Georgia O’Keeffe paintings, and the Tom of Finland wallpaper in the bathroom.”
Hoffman, who has worked on the O+ team in the past, reached out to the nonprofit’s art director to recruit a local artist to do a mural she originally envisioned as a “queer mythical landscape.” The final idea, which was conceptualized and painted by artist Singha Hon, evokes the effect of a stained glass and features a multicolored phoenix flying toward a sun and, of course, the namesake unicorn.
Beside the colorful mural, the barroom itself is cozy and subdued with dark blue walls and leopard print booth seating with a mix of Art Deco and fringed pendants. The side room, AKA the lounge has plenty of extra tables basking in the neon glow of two mouths kissing. Hoffman imagines this as a quieter sitting area for people who want to have a conversation and also a space that could be rented for events from a weekly book club to a postcard writing event to a company party. “We took the bones of a really beautiful property and really elevated it and made it into something sleek and sexy and something people want to hang out in,” Hoffman says.
The spacious backroom brings all your ’80s prom Footloose dreams to life with over 1,000 square feet of space and dozens of disco balls in every size. This is where Hoffman will host all the programming she has planned from live music to DJ dance parties and cabaret nights.
“On Saturday night, we had a room full of people cheering, throwing money, having a good time,” she says. “We don't have a scene around this type of performance—a little bit here or there. Crown used to do some shows, but it’s been years. People got dressed up. It was really cool to see the outfits.”
The back ballroom is also available for event rental, either on its own or as part of a property buyout for anything from weddings to speaking events, corporate rentals, or birthday parties.
While there is a lawn area outside zoned for the liquor license, Hoffman hasn’t gotten to that yet. A future fundraising campaign will raise money for the patio, sound equipment, and other odds and end. “We’re open and we’re mostly done, but there’s still definitely work to do,” she says.
The drink list features six cocktails ranging from the $13 Palo-ma Santo—mezcal, palo santo, grapefruit, lime, agave, and soda—to the $16 New Fangled, made with rye, maple, and orange and black walnut bitters. You can also order any off the classics off-menu. Importantly, the menu also features as many mocktails as alcoholic drinks, plus NA beer. The eight taplines pour mostly beer, plus a Citizen cider and a ginger kombucha.
Though Hoffman opted to turn the gas in the kitchen off, Unicorn does have food offerings from the Corner Counter in Red Hook. Offerings range from snack trays like the cheese platter with three cheeses, olives, marcona almonds, fig jam, dried fruit, sourdough crackers ($18) to heartier sandwiches ($16). “Something I’d like to do in the future is pop-up with queer chefs from the area,” she says. “Given that the gas is off, we’d have to get creative, but that is a down-the-line thing. Right now I’m mostly focusing on the live music and performance programming.”
Speaking of programming, May 17 will be the first karaoke night with Major Mayhem. There will be live music on May 23 with the Mac & Cheeze Balkan Powertrio, and in June, Hoffman looks forward to hosting a slew of events for Pride month, including the June 14 Sapphic Party in partnership with Queer Kingston.
“We’ve been very busy all three nights,” Hoffman says. “It’s a very good problem to have. I’m working on more staffing. But it’s an honor and privilege to be able to facilitate something like this. Clearly means a lot to so many people already.”
Unicorn is open Wednesday through Saturday 4pm-12am, and Sunday 3-11pm.
