“We are so used to being around everyone. I’m not worried about that at all,” she says. “Our generation and clientele aren’t worried if people are gay. We are excited to serve everyone,” Black says.
“All I can say is we are excited to be part of the community. In an interview with Q Voice News, Black and McManus talk about their plans for the space, bringing a skater vibe to the “Gay Ghetto,” and being the new kid on the Broadway Corridor, just steps from The Brit and Mineshaft, the two oldest gay bars on the block. Since the announcement of Paradise’s closing, the neighbors have been curious about the replacement and what could mean to the gayborhood, the Alamitos Beach neighborhood around Broadway that for decades has been Long Beach’s predominately gay area. The building Black calls home started as a hardware store in 1929 and housed a number of bars and restaurants until the Paradise took over in 1980. The trio opened the original Black bar in 2014 on Santa Monica Boulevard near Vine Street.īlack and McManus’ business credentials include running the Sunset Strip-based The Viper Room from 1993 to 1998. The trio picked up the keys to the space one week after Black gave birth to her first child. The trio will open Black, a skater bar, by July 1. Broadway, site of the former gay landmark Paradise Bar and Restaurant. Heath Kirchart, left, Shannon McManus, center, and Bethany Black are the new tenants of 1800 E.
