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By Alice Gibbs
Senior Reporter
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A lesbian bar that went viral amid backlash over its decision to relax its COVID-conscious mask mandate has announced it is closing down.
Last Ditch in Western Massachusetts announced its closure in an Instagram post on Monday, explaining: “We are SOFT CLOSING effective immediately.”
The bar said that doors will remain closed for all but pre-arranged events unless anyone is interested in joining the business as an owner, or taking over entirely.
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“We need new owners ASAP, we close this winter,” the bar said on Instagram, where it said it has around $70,000 value in equipment, furniture, updates and repairs, social medias and inventory.
The bar did not give a specific reason for the closure, but has long been honest about its financial concerns and a statement pointed to difficulties building a leadership team and completing a transition to a worker-owned cooperative.
“We have put our lives on hold to foster networks of care, resources, and a home base for organizing. It's time we pass it on," the statement said. "We've been fighting since the beginning to fill out the team, and we still don't have a board/leadership to manage workers owned Co-op transfer.”
Newsweek reached out to Last Ditch via email for comment.
Last Ditch Bar: A Timeline
The bar gained viral attention after an August 31 Instagram post where it suggested changes to its mask mandate policy.
Last Ditch required visitors to wear a KN-95 respirator mask “or better” during their visit since its opening in 2025, a policy designed to support the immunocompromised and COVID-conscious.
But in August, the bar posted an update—it would be opening up Saturday nights as “mask optional.”
What followed was uproar. Hundreds of now removed comments detailed upset over the decision, accusing the bar of ableism, favoring profit over supporting their immunocompromised patrons and even calling for violence in some cases.
As the situation continued to spiral, the bar apologized, and in early September held a public “accountability session." Over the course of three hours the bar’s owner Jackie Matellian, volunteers, bar patrons and a designated mediator to facilitate the conversation got together in person and on Zoom to discuss the decision.
During the session, Matellian explained the bar’s ongoing financial difficulties, including revealing she was living in her car and struggling to pay off a $50,000 loan connected to the business.
These issues did little to appease upset patrons though. One vocal critic, artist Soe Noire, said that the comments were “incredibly racist and deflecting behavior,” before saying that he no longer felt safe at the venue.
Last Ditch’s story was amplified, thanks in large part to an article in The Boston Globe and a feature on an episode of the Blocked and Reported podcast. Some lawmakers even weighed in on the moment.
Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz said on X: "Leftism is a mental disease. If you doubt that, read below," referring to a post about the hostile response to the change in the bar's face mask policy.
Republican Texas State Representative Mitch Little also shared his thoughts, writing: "There are parts of the country that live in a different reality tunnel than us."
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Following the backlash, Last Ditch continued to host events and began selling clothing and stickers to help support the bar.
But on Monday, the bar announced it was closing, with its future now dependent on finding a new investor.
While Last Ditch has had comments restricted on its posts since the backlash earlier this year, people took to other social media to share their thoughts on the closure.
One former customer wrote on X: “RIP Last Ditch, thank you for the memories.” While another X user said: “I know this place became a meme and whatever but it is still sad to see a lesbian bar close because there are so few that exist.”
The closure comes after a decades-long decline in dedicated lesbian bars across the U.S. There were around 200 in the 1980s, but by 2020, only about 15 were thought to remain, according to figures cited by the Lesbian Bar Project. The project currently lists 36 lesbian bars across the country, including Last Ditch.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Rebecca Flood and Emma Lee-Sang
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