The Brief

Karen Emmert first heard about the Ruby Fruit, a lesbian bar in Silver Lake, in 2023 through Instagram, and decided to stop by with a group of friends.

“It was super busy in the beginning. Everyone wanted to go,” she said.

Emmert loved that the space felt like a community hub where she often ran into people she hadn’t seen in a while, a sentiment echoed by Andi deFaye, who along with their partner, was a regular.

She felt that, even as a queer Black woman, she was accepted.

“When I saw a person of color in the Ruby Fruit, I felt like we get to enjoy the fruits of this gay white labor too, you know?” said deFaye.

When the Ruby Fruit announced their sudden closure on Jan. 11, just shy of two years after their opening, many in the LGBTQ+ community were gutted, expressing “nooooooo!” on social media and professing their heartbreak. “Our sapphic spaces are sacred," said one comment, while others offered help in any way.

The Ruby Fruit backstory

Owners Mara Herbkersman and Emily Bielagus met while working at natural wine bar Eszett in Silver Lake. There, the pair dreamed of one day opening a space that catered to the “sapphically inclined.”

That dream would become reality in the fall of 2022, when the owners of Eszett offered the two the opportunity of a lifetime: taking over the lease of the space.

Herbkersman and Bielagus soon became the proud owners of L.A.’s newest brick-and-mortar lesbian bar.

Taking its name from a famous sapphic novel, "Rubyfruit Jungle" by Rita Mae Brown, the spot was an instant hit, with lines often trailing out the door.

Mara Herbkersman, left, and Emily Bielagus ran the Ruby Fruit and have set up a fundraiser to help former employees.

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The Ruby Fruit

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Even with the hype the Ruby Fruit received in person and through social media, Herbkersman and Bielagus said that they struggled financially.

They say it was compounded by the six-month long entertainment strikes.

“ Hollywood drives the economy for so much in L.A. We just haven't bounced back from that. And I don't think a lot of people have,” Herbkersman said.

But what seems to have pushed them over the edge was the shock of the fires and anticipation of slower sales in the weeks to come.

The pair wrote on social media: “Sadly, along with all the feelings of grief and shock that we have experienced over the last few days, also came this undeniable reality: that running our small business is no longer sustainable.”

The only way forward, they felt, was closing.

“It was hard to look each other in the eye and realize that this was what we had to do,” said Bielagus.

The pair are hoping that the closure is temporary, as they reassess and look for an outside investor. But the shutdown is part of a bigger trend.

As of 2025, there are only 33 lesbian bars in the U.S., according to data from the Lesbian Bar Project, which has documented the historical significance of these spaces. In the 1980s, there were nearly 200 nationwide.

L.A.'s lesbian bar history

In Los Angeles, a well-established lesbian bar scene can be traced to the Sunset Strip of the 1930s and '40s.

Back then lesbian bars took the form of upscale nightclubs. Spots like Tess’s International Club and Jane Jones’s Little Club on Sunset Boulevard were popular among Hollywood celebrities.

In the postwar years, the scene began to evolve. “There was a whole panoply of bars in the 1950s and '60s,” said Lillian Faderman, a historian and co-author of "Gay L.A.: A History of Sexual Outlaws, Power Politics and Lipstick Lesbians."

Faderman says the bar scene became more and more class stratified.

Spots like the If Club on Vermont Avenue and 8th Street (modern day Koreatown) and its neighbor the Open Door catered to working-class lesbians looking for pool shoots, not dancing shoes. The Redhead (later known as Redz) in Boyle Heights was a go-to spot for Chicano lesbians.

Faderman estimates that L.A. was home to at least 43 lesbian bars by the 1980s.

But the boom didn’t last. West Hollywood's only lesbian bar, the Palms, shuttered in 2013 after operating for nearly half a century. Redz in Boyle Heights closed two years later. And finally in 2017, Los Angeles lost its last lesbian bar, The Oxwood Inn.

For six years, until the Ruby Fruit, there were no lesbian bars in L.A.

Behind the decline

Faberman suspects one reason for the decline is social media. Bars used to be one of the only places where lesbians could connect.

“For lesbians who wanted to meet other lesbians, [the bars] were the only game in town," she said. "The other game in town was literally a game, and that was the softball teams.”

Some have suggested that the growing political and cultural acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community played a role in the decline. Jordan Grasso, an LGBTQ+ policy researcher, says that in the years after the AIDS crisis, many in the lesbian community assimilated and began to look outside the lesbian bar for gathering.

Meanwhile others point to the general economic challenges faced by independent businesses.

“It's a really tough business. And I think a lot of people like to kind of pass judgment without understanding the economics of this really incredibly difficult industry,” said Erica Rose, co-creator of the Lesbian Bar Project.

She believes that businesses that are owned and operated by marginalized communities and that serve marginalized communities often face financial hardships that other businesses might not.

So now what?

Around the same time the Ruby Fruit opened in 2023, Honey’s At Star Love opened in East Hollywood, a queer watering hole which caters to the lesbian community.

It's now the only lesbian bar left in town, causing some anxiety about the future. But given there’s been such limited brick and mortar offerings over the years, the L.A. lesbian scene has long focused on community organizing and curated pop-up events rather than lesbian centered spaces.

It's why many are confident that the lesbian community will continue to gather around the city, even with the loss of another physical space.

Grasso said they have always been tapped into sapphic events that pop up around the city.

“There are so many people who make it their job to create community spaces and to maintain events throughout L.A.,” said Grasso.

People like Karla Lamb, an event producer who created Verse4Verse, a bi-monthly sapphic and queer open mic poetry night.

Verse4Verse got its start at the Ruby Fruit, but toward the end of 2024, it outgrew the space. It has since found a new home at Heavy Manners Library in Echo Park.

“I think it's sad," Lamb said. "I do think we need sapphic spaces. But in the history of L.A. queer nightlife, sapphic folks have always found somewhere to be, even if it's not a sapphic-owned bar or a gay-owned venue."

One place to find like-minded folk is through Sapphic LA, a weekly newsletter run by Anita Obasi that seeks to connect “ladies, theydies, and gentlebois of L.A.” with events around the city.

Obasi is dedicated to facilitating queer femme connection through resource sharing, inclusive event curation and intersectional collaboration across L.A. The newsletter has more than 5,000 subscribers and is a useful tool for community building.

“The community’s perseverance lies in its ability to adapt and innovate. Even in the face of challenges, we will find new ways to connect,” Obasi said.

Those looking to still support the Ruby Fruit can contribute to their GoFundMe. All donations will go towards the wages of former employees.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Since 1977, Richard Santillan has been to every Opening Day game at Dodger Stadium. 

“The tradition goes from my father, to me, to my children and grandchildren. Some of my best memories are with my father and children here at Dodger Stadium,” Santillan told The LA Local, smiling under the shade of palm trees near the entrance to the ballpark Wednesday morning. He was there to protest the team less than 24 hours before Opening Day.

Santillan, like countless other loyal Dodgers fans, is grappling with his fan identity over the team’s decision to accept an invitation to the White House and owner Mark Walter’s ties to ICE detention facilities.

More than 30 people joined Santillan on Wednesday morning for a press conference held near 1000 Vin Scully Drive to convey a message directly to the team. 

“We are demanding the Dodgers stop participating in funding of inhumane treatment of families and do not go to the White House to celebrate with the criminal in chief,” Evelyn Escatiola told the crowd. “Together, we have the power to make a change.”

Escatiola, a former dean of East Los Angeles College and longtime community organizer, urged fans to flex their economic power by “letting the Dodgers know that we do not support repression.”

Jorge “Coqui” Rodriguez, a lifelong Dodgers fan, spoke to the crowd and called on Dodgers ownership to divest from immigration detention centers owned and operated by GEO Group and CoreCivic.

Jorge Coqui H Rodriguez speaks at a press conference outside Dodger Stadium on March 25, 2026, to demand the Dodgers not to visit the White House following their 2025 World Series win.

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J.W. Hendricks

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In a phone interview a day before the protest, Rodriguez told The LA Local he did not want the Dodgers using his “cheve” or beer money to fund detention centers. 

“They can’t take our parking money, our cacahuate money, our cheve money, our Dodger Dog money and invest those funds into corporations that are imprisoning people. It’s wrong,” Rodriguez said. 

Rodriguez considers the Dodgers one of the most racially diverse teams and said the players need to support fans at a time when heightened immigration enforcement has become more common across L.A.

The team’s 2025’s visit to the White House drew ire from the largely Latino fan base, citing the Trump administration’s ongoing attacks on immigrants. 

In June, the team came under further scrutiny when rumors swirled online that federal immigration agents were using the stadium’s parking, which immigration authorities later denied in statements posted on social media accounts.

The team again came under fire after not releasing a statement on the impacts of ICE raids on its mostly Latino fan base at the height of immigration enforcement last summer. The team later agreed to invest $1 million to support families affected by immigration enforcement.

When he learned the Dodgers were pledging only $1 million to families in need, Rodriguez called the amount a  “slap in the face.” 

“These guys just bought the Lakers for billions of dollars and they give a million dollars to fight for legal services? That’s a joke,” Rodriguez said. “They need to have a moral backbone and not be investing in those companies.”

According to reporting from the Los Angeles Times, former Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershawsaid last week that he is looking forward to the trip.

“I went when President [Joe] Biden was in office. I’m going to go when President [Donald] Trump is in office,” Kershaw said. “To me, it’s just about getting to go to the White House. You don’t get that opportunity every day, so I’m excited to go.”

The Dodgers have yet to announce when their planned visit will take place. 

Santillan sometimes laments his decision to give up his season tickets in protest of the team. His connection to the stadium and the memories he has made there with family and friends will last a lifetime, he said. On Thursday, he will uphold his tradition and be there for the first pitch of the season, but with a heavy heart.

“It’s a family tradition, but the Dodgers have a lot of work to do,” he said.

A local favorite mom-and-pop bookshop in Eagle Rock is facing displacement due to a steep rent hike. The owners say theirs is just one of several small businesses along Eagle Rock Boulevard struggling to keep up with lease increases.

Over the past 19 years, many in the neighborhood have come to love READ Books for its eclectic collection of used titles and shop dog Florence.

Co-owner Jeremy Kaplan said it’s been a delight to grow with the community over the years.

“Like seeing kids come back in, who were in grade school and now they’re in college,” Kaplan said.

But the building where Kaplan and wife Debbie rent was recently sold, and the rent increased by more than 130% to $2,805 a month, Kaplan said. He told LAist it was an increase his small business simply could not absorb.

Kaplan said he originally was given 30 days notice of the rent increase. After some research, assistance from Councilmember Ysabel Jurado’s office and some pro-bono legal help, Kaplan said he pushed back and got the 90-day notice he’s afforded by state law.

California Senate Bill 1103 requires landlords to give businesses with five or less employees 90 days’ notice for rent increases exceeding 10%, among other protections.

Systems Real Estate, the property management company, did not immediately respond to LAist’s request for comment.

What can small businesses do? 

Nadia Segura, directing attorney of the Small Business Program at pro bono legal aid non-profit Bet Tzedek said California law does not currently allow for rent control for commercial tenancies.

Outside of the protections under SB 1103, Segura said small businesses like READ Books don’t have much other recourse. And even then, commercial landlords are not required to inform their tenants of their protections under the law.

“There’s still a lot of people that don’t know about SB 1103. And then it’s very sad that they tell them they have these rent increases and within a month they have to leave,” Segura said.

She said her group is seeing steep rent hikes like this for commercial tenants across the city.

“We are seeing this even more with the World Cup coming up, the Olympics coming up. And I will say it was very sad to see that also after the wildfires,” Segura said.

Part of Bet Tzedek’s ongoing work is to advocate for small businesses, working with landlords who are increasing rents to see if they are willing to give business owners longer leases that lock in rents.

What’s next 

After READ Books posted about their situation on social media, commenters chimed in to express their outrage and love for the little shop.

While he looks for a new spot, Kaplan says he’s forming a coalition of local businesses and activist groups to see what can be done to help other small businesses facing similar displacement. He wants to address the displacement issue for businesses like his, which have made Eagle Rock the distinctive neighborhood that it is today.

Owl Talk, a longtime Eagle Rock staple selling clothing and accessories in a unit in the same building as READ Books, is facing a “more than double” rent increase, according to a post on their Instagram account.

Kaplan said he’s been in touch with the office of state Assemblywoman Jessica Caloza and wants to explore the possibility of introducing legislation to set up protections for small businesses like his, including rent-control measures or a vacancy tax for landlords. Kaplan said he also reached out to the office of state Sen. Maria Durazo.

By his count, Kaplan said there are about a dozen businesses within surrounding blocks that are at risk of closing their doors or have shuttered due to rent increases or other struggles.

When READ Books was founded during the Great Recession, Kaplan said he knew it was a longshot to open a bookstore at the same time so many were struggling to stay in business.

“It was kind of interesting to be doing something that neighborhoods needed. That was important to me growing up, that was important to my children, that was important to my wife growing up,” Kaplan said.

“And then somebody comes in and says, ‘We’re gonna over double your rent.”

Topline:

Frozen budget: Most of the city’s Bureau of Street Lighting budget comes from an assessment that people who own property illuminated by lights pay on their county property tax bill. The amount people pay depends on the kind of property they own and how much they benefit from lighting. A typical single-family home currently pays $53 annually, and in total, the assessments bring in about $45 million annually for the city to repair and maintain streetlights. Changing the amount the Bureau of Street Lighting gets from the assessment requires a vote among property owners who benefit from the lights.

Ballots: L.A. City Council’s vote gives city staff the green light to prepare and send out those ballots. Miguel Sangalang, who oversees the bureau, said at a committee meeting earlier this month that he expects to send out ballots by April 17. Notices about the ballots will be sent out prior to the ballots themselves.

Near unanimous vote: L.A. City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez was the only “No” vote Tuesday, saying she wanted to see a more current strategic plan for the bureau. Sangalang said the bureau developed a plan in 2022 that lays out how money will be spent. Councilmember Imelda Padilla was absent for the vote.

Vote count: Votes will be weighted according to the assessment amount. Basically, the more you’re asked to pay yearly to maintain streetlights, the more your vote will count. Ballots received before June 2 will be tabulated by the L.A. City Clerk.

How much more money: According to a report, the amount needed in assessments from property owners to meet the repair and maintenance needs of the city’s streetlighting in the next fiscal year is nearly $112 million.

Use of the money: Sangalang said at a March 11 committee meeting that the extra funds would be used to double the number of staff to handle repairs and procure solar streetlights, which don’t face the threat of copper wire theft. That would all potentially reduce the time it takes to repair simple fixes down to a week. Currently, city residents wait for months to see broken streetlights repaired. The assessment would come with a three-year auditing mechanism.