For Black, Gay Chicagoans, It’s Always Been Jeffery Pub
In the first installment of our series on the city’s oldest gay bars, we visit the South Shore stalwart — Chicago’s only black-owned establishment of its kind.
June 26, 2019, 8:00 am
Jeffery Pub (7041 S. Jeffery Ave.) has been a neighborhood institution since the 1960s, but according to bartender Lee “Mr. Lee” Davis, it began as a straight bar. "Back in the early '60s... across the street there on the corner, there was a gay bar called Maxine’s. And when Maxine’s abruptly closed, even though this was a straight bar, gay people started coming here [instead]. By the mid-60s, it was fully a gay bar.”Photo: Max HermanDavis started working at Jeffery Pub in 1993, but has been coming to the bar since the '70s. “Everyone knows about this bar on the South Side," he says. "We’ve got guys that come here [to the door] that are 19, 20 and say, ‘How old you have to be in there?’ They know about the bar and can’t wait to get in.”Photo: Max HermanBartender Charlotte “Smoke” Thompson stands for a portrait at the entrance to the patio. She's been a bartender at Jeffery Pub for 11 years.Photo: Max HermanThompson talks with patrons during SilkySoul Sundays at Jeffery Pub. “Even around here, there’s not many bars where people can come out and have a good time, let alone [one that's] predominantly gay, unless you go up north to Boystown," Thompson says. "When they come to the Jeffery Pub, I just try to make them feel good, make them feel at home, and make them feel safe.”Photo: Max HermanThompson does a shot challenge with Dana Parker, left, and Felicia C., at right.Photo: Max HermanJeanette Porter, co-founder of SilkySoul Sundays at Jeffery Pub, sports a shirt celebrating the night.Photo: Max HermanCouple Jeanette and Dana Porter have been hosting SilkySoul Sundays at Jeffery Pub for three years.Photo: Max HermanAn assortment of hats for sale leading up to Pride weekend.Dana Porter, Gerald "Ebonii Ebonii" Henderson, and Jeanette Porter, the organizers of SilkySoul Sundays.Photo: Max HermanPromoters Lisa and Sherelle, the duo behind a house music-focused night at Jeffery Pub, share a dance.Photo: Max Herman
