The diverse crowd that Singers attracts can be partly attributed to its branding — or rather, lack thereof. Its exterior is nondescript, bearing no distinctive L.G.B.T.Q. markers like rainbows or trans flags, but word of mouth has lured a growing pool of regulars.
The staff, like that of C’mon Everybody, a bar known for its drag shows a few blocks away, also reflects this mélange of patrons. It’s not a lesbian bar or a gay bar or a trans bar so much as it is a bar run by lesbian, gay and trans people, said Myles Platt, Singers’ manager.
Kelly McCarthy, an owner, with Drew Adler, of the nearby photography shop Exposure Therapy, spends many nights at Singers. She said she loved that the bar doesn’t cater to only one type of L.G.B.T.Q. customer. “It’s doll-friendly, it’s trans-friendly, it’s nonbinary-friendly,” she said. “People who are cool from those groups, even people who are really annoying from those groups, can all feel very comfortable there.”
On any given night, patrons said, you are likely to recognize someone you know from queer pockets of X, formerly known as Twitter, or maybe a person you spotted on a gay dating app.
The bar sports a vending machine in its red-lit back room, which, depending on inventory, may be stocked with gum, Emergen-C, collagen face masks, disposable cameras and even USBs stored with every “Final Destination” movie. “Just, like, anything we can fit in there,” Mr. Escobar said.
