Save The Ruby Fruit

On January 11, we announced the temporary closure of The Ruby Fruit.

We - Emily and Mara - managed to open the only permanent Lesbian Bar in Los Angeles with zero financial backing. We have poured our hearts into building something meaningful for the community, even when the odds were stacked against us.

This business was started with no financial reserves, no investors, no corporation behind us to float the business during tough times. We operate week-to-week and if business is slow, we risk being unable to cover our operating costs. With a robust community behind us, The Roob managed to survive the Hollywood industry strikes, and the inherent challenges facing the restaurant industry, but the decline in business due to the recent wildfires - without any ‘reserves’ - meant we needed to take a pause. We realized we need community support to keep The Ruby Fruit open.

Fueled by passion, resilience, and a steadfast commitment to creating a safe, welcoming gathering place for the queer community, we are now in the re-building phase.

We’ve always operated with transparency and integrity—choosing not to bury costs or deny the challenges of running a queer space. We’ve prioritized paying our team fairly, providing equitable opportunities, and we've ensured that any extra resources went directly into improving the business. Our scrappy approach that served us in the beginning is no longer sufficient to sustain the business.

We started The Ruby Fruit without enough working capital to sustain it during times of crisis. Ideally we would have had more to start with, but we took a risk to open this vital space for our community and now we need your financial support in order to move forward.

If we have learned anything, we know that this space has always been needed, but in these uncertain times, the survival of queer spaces is now more critical than ever.

The response to our closure announcement was overwhelming: so many of you, from around LA and around the world, reached out to ask us how you could help. With your support behind us, and with the knowledge that spaces like The Roob are vital, we’ve decided to hold a Fundraiser to Save The Ruby Fruit.

We hope to raise $100,000 in order to get back on our feet and re-open our beloved space.

All fundraising proceeds will go toward:

• rent

• operating costs

• insurance premiums

• utilities

• outstanding invoices to vendors

Donate here to help us reach our fundraising goal.

We can't wait to welcome you back and clink our glasses very soon!

Love,

Emily + Mara