Detroit’s oldest gay bar, Gigi’s, celebrates 50 years as haven for city’s LGBTQ+ community

As the oldest gay-owned bar in Detroit, Gigi’s celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, commemorating a long history as a cultural staple and haven for Detroit’s LGBTQ+ community.

Gay bars have historically played a crucial role as safe spaces for the LGBTQ+ community, providing a sanctuary where individuals can gather, socialize and express their identities freely. That place in Detroit is Gigi’s, which opened in 1973, just four years after the Stonewall uprising that ignited the modern gay rights movement.

Gigi’s has played a pivotal role in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights and has fostered a vibrant queer culture that continues to thrive today. It’s also home to the nation's oldest drag pageant, and the oldest gay bar drag competition title in the country, the annual Miss Gigi’s contest.

One Detroit’s Chris Jordan sat down with Gigi’s co-owner and general manager Luis Mandujano, who bought the bar in 2020 after being a regular there for more than twenty years, Gigi’s Cabaret show director Nickki Stevens, and bar manager Randy Markoz Santiago to discuss the bar’s history, legacy, and place within the Detroit LGBTQ+ community.

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