Famed Chicago nightclub Berlin closes its doors

Very sad. Had many a great night at Berlin

"Berlin was on the cutting edge of queer Chicago for 40 years," LGBTQ+ historian Owen Keehnen tells Axios. Berlin's owners have coined the club as the best "non-gay gay bar" in Chicago because everyone was welcome. Celebrities like Elton John, John Waters, and Donna Karan have been seen on the dance floor. After original owner Tim Sullivan died of AIDS in 1994, current owners Jim Schuman and Jo Webster took over. "It was about creating a safe space for those who just didn't fit in a mold," Webster told the Tribune in 2013.

Management had recently clashed with the club's newly formed union. Drag performers, staff and patrons had staged a months-long boycott, citing work conditions and low wages.Club management had previously said the union's demands would force them to close. Yes, but: The boycott wasn't mentioned in the club's announcement that it's closing. The Berlin union said they "continue to believe that businesses that refuse to value our work above minimum wage do not belong in our community."

I am pro-union, but some of the demands of these workers were off the charts. For a bar that was open 4 days a week and for working 24ish hours a week they wanted full medical care. I've worked at a number of bars over the years and unless you're in some kind of hospitality situation at a major hotel chain that's just not in the cards.

These fucking idiots fucked themselves and now have killed what was one of the best places in Chicago. Fuck them.

I always loved the idea of Berlin, but haven't been there since the 90s. Even then, we preferred Vortex, Roscoe's, Sidetracks, etc.

That's a pretty impressively long run considering this establishment came about to appeal to the gay/alt New Wave scene of the eighties.

Glad I randomly ended up there this summer. Sad to think it was my last visit.

In the 2000s it was seen as a second-rate Crobar and a place to go on Fridays and Saturdays when Manhole/Hydrate wasn't popping. I was always bored there.