Owner Lisa Cannistraci is in it for the long haul, having just renewed the bar’s lease in 2016 for another 15 years. For many, including myself, it was one of our first connections to the queer community, and it’s a place that has bridged LGBTQ+ generations and remained relevant as our community has changed throughout the years. Henrietta Hudson isn’t just any old West Village stomping ground. Henrietta Hudson is one of the few that have survived: The West Village bar, which opened in 1991, has made it through 9/11, the 2008 recession, and Hurricane Sandy in 2012, to say nothing of the broader social forces that have forced many other bars oriented towards queer women to shutter their doors.
Lesbian-centric queer bars are a dying breed across the U.S one study suggests that between 20, listings for lesbian bars in a national guidebook of LGBTQ+ places declined over 50%.
