I had just graduated from college when I walked into LUSH for the first time. I remember sitting with a group of friends at a table on the side of the stage. I was so excited because, although I was a huge drag fan, it was only my second drag show and my first gay bar experience. (I went to school in Winona, and there weren’t many gay bar opportunities down there.) There was just something in the air. It’s truly an indescribable feeling when you’re a queer person in a room full of other queer people for the first time. It’s a warm sense of belonging, like everything is going to be all right. Over the years, I’d continue to go to LUSH for drag, drinks with friends, or to celebrate Pride. It has become a staple in the lives of many queer people who live in the Twin Cities and the surrounding area.
Since opening in 2008, LUSH has gone through several chapters of its own, weaving itself into the history of LGBTQ+ nightlife in Minneapolis. In 2015, Ken Darling purchased the business from the estate of former owner Kelly Phillips and planned a major expansion. A few years later, the COVID-19 pandemic forced LUSH to close its doors, prompting another period of change for its patrons and staff. LUSH was now looking to change as it reconsidered its leadership and future. That process eventually led Jennifer Lueck, Andy Rausch, and Jared Lawrence to acquire the business in 2021.
Now, a decade after my first visit, LUSH is preparing for what could be its most significant chapter yet. Could LUSH become the nation’s first nonprofit LGBTQ+ bar and theater? Owners Lueck, Rausch, and Lawrence are hoping to make that vision a reality, alongside Bruce Thompson, president of the LUSH Legacy Fund, the separate nonprofit organization working to bring LUSH under community ownership.
01
The idea
The idea came about in 2021, when the three co-owners were in the process of formally acquiring LUSH after it had closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. From the beginning, what they really wanted was to involve the community as much as possible, Lueck said.
They spoke with several community members, including Rebecca Waggoner of Quorum, Minnesota’s LGBTQ+ and Allied Chamber of Commerce. It was at that point that the suggestion of a nonprofit was presented to them.
The team started working with a nonprofit expert and accountant who helped them with the filing and paperwork. Despite some warnings that it could be up to a year before they achieved nonprofit status, they were blown away when, roughly a week after they acquired LUSH, they received notice from the IRS that the LUSH Legacy Fund had been granted official nonprofit 501(c)(3) status.
“Oh my gosh, LUSH could be the first LGBTQ+ bar and theater in the nation that could be a nonprofit.”
Jennifer Lueck, co-owner, LUSH
With their newfound status secured, it was full steam ahead, but it also brought countless more questions. For example, if the theater at LUSH was the nonprofit and guests purchased drinks inside it while attending a show, where would the revenue go? Thankfully, their accountant offered a solution that they hadn’t even considered: LUSH itself could be a nonprofit.
“We were like, ‘How is that possible with a liquor license?’” Lueck said. “And that’s when [our accountant] said a VFW is a nonprofit. That was for us kind of the light bulb of, ‘Oh my gosh, LUSH could be the first LGBTQ+ bar and theater in the nation that could be a nonprofit.’”
02
Like a VFW
The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) is a membership-based organization that supports veterans and their families, with many operating as a bar as well to serve as a gathering place for members and their communities. While the VFW and LUSH would operate under slightly different nonprofit structures, the comparison helped Lueck see that having a bar and maintaining nonprofit status weren’t necessarily mutually exclusive.
With that realization it seemed like all the pieces were finally starting to fall into place; however, turning that idea into a reality would require more than just filing paperwork. LUSH would operate and remain a separate, privately owned business while the LUSH Legacy Fund would work toward eventually bringing the business under nonprofit ownership. As happens, as one goal is achieved, many more take its place.
Operating a bar while also building up a nonprofit is certainly not easy, but the LUSH Legacy Fund was ready to start the next part of their mission. What started as a small group a few years ago has grown into an experienced seventeen-member board. That board is made up of people who want to help shape the future of the space and have helped develop its mission, vision, strategy, and fundraising plans, Thompson said.
However, becoming a nonprofit is about more than just changing the ownership of LUSH. Those behind the Legacy Fund want the community to have a greater role in determining what the space can become in the future.
03
Buy a brick
Their first capital campaign, “Buy a Brick, Build a Legacy,” is now underway. This is the first opportunity for the community to have a tangible part in LUSH’s future. Community members, loved ones, and businesses can purchase a brick featuring their name or a message, which will eventually become part of a wall inside LUSH.
A nonprofit structure could also provide LUSH with opportunities to expand its presence and role in the community. They can apply for grants, develop new programming, and partner with other nonprofits and community-based organizations. Lueck even envisions the possibility of future programs they can offer. With a community-owned LUSH, the space could become not only a place to build relationships and gather, but one in which to learn, create, and perform.
“Queer spaces like LUSH are more than just bars; they’re where generations of queer people gather, celebrate, and find community.”
Brett Burger
“I’d love to be offering mentor and mentee programs because we have such a unique space, a fully dedicated theater, bar, and restaurant,” Lueck said.
04
The next chapter
What I find extremely exciting about this new venture is not just what it can do for Minneapolis, but what it can do for other queer bars. Lueck said that the VFW-inspired nonprofit model could eventually serve as the blueprint for other queer bars across the country looking for ways to preserve their businesses and keep them rooted in the communities they serve.
It’s such a unique idea that it makes you think, “It’s just wild enough to work.” And I think it truly will because queer spaces like LUSH are more than just bars; they’re where generations of queer people gather, celebrate, and find community. Now the next step is to help solidify these spaces for the next generation.
For me, LUSH will always be tied to that first experience I had of walking into a gay bar and realizing just how powerful a queer space could be. The idea that it could be the nation’s first nonprofit LGBTQ+ bar and theater feels like a pretty incredible next chapter to me.
“It’s truly an indescribable feeling when you’re a queer person in a room full of other queer people for the first time. It’s a warm sense of belonging, like everything is going to be all right.”
Brett Burger
From the shoot at LUSH · 10 photographs by a.m. photography
