Industry Bar


Industry Bar, or simply Industry, is a gay bar and nightclub in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood, in New York City. It is a sister establishment to Barracuda, a gay bar, and Elmo, a restaurant.

Description

New York magazine published the following description: "Industry is a welcome blend of the three types of gay bars you’ve come to expect in Manhattan: the tight-shirt lounge, the tank-top megaclub, and the casual-plaid cruising spot. Excellent DJs spin genre-spanning pop mash-ups of Erasure and Ke$ha, DJ Earworm mastermixes, and hits from Cher to Kanye to Cher to Robyn to Cher, all while bartenders pour stiff vodka sodas to handsome men of all ages who are all under 40 online. The loosely divided rooms, sprawled across a single floor, are comfortably sparse, ideal for unfettered roaming. Go early on Fridays to relax and talk, and then let the room heat up around you." In his 2015 list of "the best gay bars in Hell's Kitchen" for Time Out New York, Ethan LaCroix wrote about the bar: "The men behind longstanding Chelsea haunts Barracuda and Elmo Restaurant bring you this sultry midown drinkery. Unlike cozy Barracuda, Industry is a sprawling, high-ceilinged space, featuring a long concrete bar a stage hosting drag and music performances and a sizeable dance floor. Those seeking a more intimate scene will find plenty of private nooks and comfy couches."

History

The 4,000-square-foot bar opened in December 2010. In Industry's early years, Peppermint and Dallas DuBois hosted a weekly drag show called "Queen" there. "Queen" is still running, and as of 2018, its rotating cast of drag queens included Chelsea Piers and Pattaya Hart.

Reception

New York magazine rated the bar 68 out of 100, indicating "not terrible". In 2014, Michael Musto of Paper included Industry in his list of "the 30 Best Gay Bars in Manhattan" and said, "You can't be gay without going to Hell's Kitchen bars, and this one is the shiniest and most happening, with drag shows and more drag shows!" Miz Cracker, who appeared on season 11 of RuPaul's Drag Race, said, "Everyone who's anyone goes to see 'Queen' on Thursdays at this giant lounge. The wildest queens in the, well, industry perform numbers on a theme for some of the poshest gays in Hell's Kitchen, and everyone has a blast. This bar features fabulous queens every night, each with their own radically different style."