Jack'sSummit: Free Beer Tomorrow Documenty Film

Welcome to our Fundraiser. We are a small group of former patrons of Jack's a Go-Go/Summit Station who are working to preserve the history of the bar. We have been doing this work for the past two years. Our work started with a quest to obtain a historical marker from the Ohio History Connection that would publicly mark the significane of the bar to Ohio history. Now we have turned our attention to making a documentary film about the herstory and culture of that space. Because our Kickstarter campaign has not been successful, we have returned to the original Go Fund Me campaign to raise additional funds. The first $9,800 of thie fundraiser was spent to support placement and dedication of the historical marker. Any additional funds will go to support the film project. At this phase of the project our goal is $15,000.

Some examples of what we will spend the money on include (payment to videographers, editors, designers; webhosting; honoraria to interview subjects; camera, sound and lighting equipment; travel expenses, etc.) Thank you in advance for any contribution you are able to make. We assure you the funds will be put to good use.

Read on for info about the film, the marker and the space.

About the film:

Free Beer Tomorrow is a documentary film project that tells the story of Jack's/Summit Station, Ohio's longest running lesbian owned and operated bar. With interviews from Peter Brown — a classically trained musician turned bar owner — to pioneering LGBTQ+ lawyer and legal scholar, Rhonda R. Rivera, and former patrons running the gamut of tap dancers, professional women's football players, feminist activists, bartenders and drag kings, the film explores lesbian culture in an era where bars were one of the few safe-havens from an oppressive and homophobic world.

A recap of the dedication events can be seen here:

About the bar/historical marker:

In 1971, Petie Brown, a trumpeter and young lesbian, got a part-time bartending job at Jack's A Go-Go to support her aspiring singing career. Word spread fast that a lesbian was behind the bar, and soon Jack's began attracting lesbian women in scores. Petie left the bar along the way, but the word was out, and the bar's owners welcomed the lesbian patrons. When the bar came up for sale 10 years later, Petie rounded up every penny she had and bought it. In 1980 she renamed it Summit Station, established it as a safe space for lesbians and friends, and thus was born Ohio's longest-running lesbian bar. As Petie tells it, it was one of the first three lesbian bars in the United States. Forty-two years after the opening of the bar, a small group of former patrons banded together to pay tribute to Petie and the bar. In partnership with the Ohio History Connection, a historical marker will be placed permanently in front of the space that held Summit Station.

The marker was dedicated on June 10, 2023. Thanks to 175 donors we raised funds to cover the cost of the marker, placement of the marker, festivities to mark the occasion. The space that housed Jack's/Summit Station is currently occupied by The Summit Music Hall and the owners of the current bar have supported our efforts in a number of ways. A full day celebration including bands, DJs, comedians, etc. occurred on site at the Summit Music Hall for the dedication event.

All donation amounts will be appreciated. If you, like so many people across the ages, have fond memories of hanging out at Jack's/Summit Station, please consider a donation.

IN ACCORDANCE WITH GO FUND ME RULES, no raffles, sweepstakes, giveaways, or returns on investment are offered in exchange for any donations made to this campaign.

Thanks so much for whatever you can spare.

Now, walk down memory lane as you scroll through the pictures below.

Budweiser cost .50 cents when Petie opened, with inflation that is $2.32, still a bargain!

Who remembers late night Taco Ninja?

The only team Petie ever sponsored was the Pacesetter s, Columbus' own women's football team. According to her, there were too many softball teams and she wanted to be fair, so she didn't sponsor any of them and chose the Pacesetters instead.

The annual Christmas Show was a highlight of the year and raised thousands of dollars over the years for children in need.

Singular Sensations stole the show year after year.

Jacks had the best bar staff EVER.

Remember Slator, Justus, Bitch's Brew and all the other bands that graced the stage over the years?

H.I.S. Kings got their start at Summit Station in September of 1996.

How about Petie in that sharp tuxedo?!

If you were lucky enough to have been a patron, can imagine what would your life be without Summit Station?

Text of the Historical Marker appears below:

2210 Summit Street once housed one of Ohio’s longest-running lesbian bars. In 1970, the owners of Jack’s A Go Go recognized that while Columbus had bars for gay men, it needed one geared toward LGBTQ+ clientele. Patrons knew the bar as “Jack’s,” Logan’s Off Broadway, and Summit Station. Staff welcomed women from small towns, women working in trades, women of color, butch/femme lesbians, and transgender people. Regulars recall that stepping through the door felt like finally entering a place of true belonging. Women could dance, “get together,” break up, sing karaoke, party with friends, and celebrate birthdays and holidays. Summit Station remained a safe public space, despite ongoing police harassment of its gender non-conforming regulars. A sign posted outside declared: “Ladies Night, Every Night. Men $5.”

By the 1980s, Summit Station was considered “the largest women’s bar in Columbus.” It regularly hosted lesbian musicians, comedians, DJs, an all female dance

troupe, dart and billiards leagues, drag king and dyke queen performers. In efforts to give back to its community, Summit Station held benefits for the Children’s Hospital FACES program to support women and children affected by HIV, BRAVO, Stonewall Union (now Stonewall Columbus), and the Columbus AIDS Task Force. The bar also sponsored local sports teams as well as the Pacesetters, the longest-running team in the National Women’s Football League. Although the Short North Gazette declared Summit Station the city’s “longest-standing gay and lesbian bar” in 2007, it was closed by 2008. For nearly forty years, Summit Station provided the LGBTQ+ community a welcoming space in Columbus.

Thank you for your support!