Queer restaurant and former lesbian bar in New York City, U.S.
Henrietta Hudson
Henrietta Hudson exterior in 2022
Restaurant information
Established
1991
Owner(s)
Lisa Cannistraci
Street address
438 Hudson Street
City
New York City
State
New York
Country
United States of America
Henrietta Hudson, originally named Henrietta Hudson Bar & Girl, is a queer[1] restaurant and lounge in Manhattan's
West Village neighborhood.[2] It operated as a
lesbian bar from 1991 to 2014. Until it rebranded in 2021,[3] it was one of three remaining
lesbian bars in New York City.[4][5][6] Henrietta Hudson's location is the original location of the
Cubbyhole bar,[7] which had the distinction of being lesbian-owned and managed.[8][9][10]
History
Lisa Cannistraci and bar owner Minnie Rivera opened Henrietta Hudson in 1991 as a lesbian-centric
bar.[7] The establishment became New York City's longest-operating lesbian bar after the closure of other similar venues.[11][4][12][13][14]Gay liberation icon
Stormé DeLarverie was a
bouncer at Henrietta Hudson well into her 80s.[6]
Part of the bar's ongoing evolution included removal of the "lesbian bar" descriptor in 2014.[15] In a 2019 interview, Lisa Cannistraci said she did not "care whether or not it is known specifically as a lesbian bar...I just want people to come and have a great experience."[12] Following its closure due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, Cannistraci announced plans to rebrand and expand Henrietta Hudson into a "café, lounge, bistro, coffee house, [and] cocktail place".[3][16][17]
The rebranding, however, resulted in controversy due to Cannistraci soliciting financial contributions from lesbians with a "Save the Bar"
crowdfunding for Henrietta Hudson,[18][19][20] and also participating in the
Lesbian Bar Projectfundraising campaign to save lesbian bars,[21][22] despite using the donations to reopen the venue as a "queer" space no longer catering exclusively to lesbians.[23]