Owner of Babes of Carytown, nation's second-oldest lesbian bar, has died

Vicky Hester died Tuesday, surrounded by loved ones. She owned Babes of Carytown, the second-oldest lesbian bar in the United States. Details of a celebration of life will be announced later. Babes opened in 1987 as a steakhouse and evolved into a gathering spot for lesbians and the broader LGBTQ+ community, hosting a 47th-anniversary party on April 3. Hester emphasized pride and community, calling the bar a place to come together and struggle together and a venue that attracts a crowd seeking to celebrate diversity, show gratitude, and dance. Babes hosted line-dancing classes, benefits for a church food pantry, and served LGBTQ+ sports leagues while surviving near-closures and anti-LGBTQ+ legal pressures.

Hester died Tuesday, surrounded by loved ones, according to an Instagram post from the bar, which was the second-oldest lesbian bar in the U.S. Details of a celebration of life will be announced later. "Please continue to join her family, friends, and staff at Babes of Carytown in remembering her tenacity for life and love for people," the post reads. "Keep those she loved in your thoughts, as we begin to navigate life without her. She will truly be missed."

Babes opened in 1987 as a steakhouse, but it soon became a gathering spot for lesbians and eventually the LGBTQ+ community in general. The bar held a 47th anniversary party April 3. "It's always been about pride and community and a place to not only come together but struggle together," Hester told the magazine of the bar's role in Richmond. It has attracted "a crowd that wants to celebrate diversity, show love and gratitude, and enjoy a fun place to dance."

Longtime customer Carol Anderson started coming to Babe's to teach line dancing after meeting Hester at the local Metropolitan Community Church. Hester held a cover-free dance instruction event as a benefit for MCC's food pantry. "If I can say I'm proud of anything, I'm proud of that," Anderson told RVA. Babes has also been popular with LGBTQ+ sports leagues, several patrons said. And while it is often considered a lesbian bar, it's actually a "friendly dive bar that spans the entire LGBTQ community,"

Read at Advocate.com