tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1209459778715580874.post8241647952799173293..comments2024-03-22T17:41:18.042-04:00Comments on The Gay Curmudgeon: Last Night at the Rawhide thegaycurmudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14992081621678823018noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1209459778715580874.post-61982737234833433752013-03-31T11:48:35.058-04:002013-03-31T11:48:35.058-04:00Why did Rawhide close? Because it was past its pr...Why did Rawhide close? Because it was past its prime, and has become obsolete. <br /><br />I also mourn the loss of the New York I sought when I moved here 18 years ago. But just about the only thing about New York that you can count on (aside from the subways being f'd up EVERY weekend) is that it will always change. It's constantly evolving. <br /><br />Unfortunately -- depending on your perspective -- the evolution isn't always for the better. I miss the Chelsea of 20 years ago, when it was the gay Mecca. But then someone older than I will pine for the Chelsea of 30 years ago, when it was gritty, edgy, and "dangerous". And then someone else will pine for the Chelsea of 60 years ago, when it was 1950's chic. <br /><br />The change in this city is inevitable; you can't stop it. No one can. It's been in a constant state of change since the 17th Century. The best you can do is hang onto your ideals with one hand, and embrace the change with the other.<br /><br />The Rawhide is closing because it failed to keep up with change surrounding it. Businesses that serve the local foot traffic MUST cater to the neighborhood's changing clientele (no matter how distasteful it may be). <br /><br />I learned this lesson just yesterday; while on my Easter visit home, I met the man who bought Hemingway's -- my favorite restaurant on the Pitt campus. It used to be upscale dining. But as an upscale restaurant, it was going bankrupt. Why? Because its primary clientele -- college students -- could not afford to frequent it. So the new owner changed its focus from an upscale restaurant to an upscale BAR, shifting its focus from 70% restaurant/30% bar to 70% bar/30% restaurant. He turned it into a goldmine.<br /><br />Like it or not, the gay bar in Chelsea is dying. Perhaps we have ourselves to blame; gay men are simply not going to the bars as much, for myriad reasons (internet/smartphone hookups, older gay guys just getting tired of the scene, etc.). But the fact remains that affluent straight couples have replaced gay men as the primary clientele in Chelsea. <br /><br />It is what it is.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11872194236710349068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1209459778715580874.post-85530596285325157132013-03-31T10:56:37.723-04:002013-03-31T10:56:37.723-04:00Yes the times they are a changing...
http://www.sh...Yes the times they are a changing...<br />http://www.shesofunny.org/2013/03/when-we-left-off-last-week-during-my.htmlRHChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04765691143133519217noreply@blogger.com