Support for LAist comes from
Audience-funded nonprofit news
Stay Connected
Audience-funded nonprofit news
Listen

Share This

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

Arts and Entertainment

L.A.'s Most Popular Gay Bar Gets The Reality TV Treatment

With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today during our fall member drive. 

The Abbey has long been L.A.'s most popular gay bar, bringing in scores of gays, lesbians and bachelorette parties every weekend for nights of drinking, dancing and ogling ripped bartenders. Nestled on a popular corner of West Hollywood, right next to Lisa Vanderpump's PUMP restaurant, it was only a matter of time before The Abbey got a reality show of its own.

What Happens At the Abbey premieres tonight at 10 p.m. on E! The show promises every bit as much drama as the Real Housewives, only if its cast members dated each other.

The show follows the lives of the bar’s comely employees (including women!) as they party, fight, bone and get sloppy. So says Abbey employee and cast member Elizabeth: "The Abbey absolutely is a soap opera, which basically means there's a lot of fighting and a lot of f--king!"

Of his bar’s ongoing success, The Abbey’s David Cooley, who appears in the show and has owned the bar for 26 years, tells LA Weekly his bar is not only a safe haven for queer people, it’s an “inclusive place where everybody is welcome, too.”

Support for LAist comes from

“I love that it’s mostly outside and open. It’s Southern California. So many other gay bars were behind closed doors in WeHo. I wanted to be open and be proud of who we were.”

Check out a tease of the show below via People. There’s perhaps a bit too much straight drama in this clip for a show about an ostensibly gay bar for our taste. But let’s be honest, who are we to resist, especially with quotes like “Billy is an OK kisser, but his breath smells like protein shakes”?

Related:
52 Essential Gay Bars And Nights Around Los Angeles
Los Angeles' 10 Most Essential LGBTQ Bars And Clubs

At LAist, we believe in journalism without censorship and the right of a free press to speak truth to those in power. Our hard-hitting watchdog reporting on local government, climate, and the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis is trustworthy, independent and freely accessible to everyone thanks to the support of readers like you.

But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.

We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.

Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.

Chip in now to fund your local journalism
A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right
(
LAist
)

Trending on LAist