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b'When Keith Orr and Martin Contreras refashioned their Mexican restaurant La Casita de Lupe into /aut/BAR in 1995, they sought to deliver a radically different gay-positive experience to the people of Ann Arbor. Their club would be the city\\u2019s first full-time, gay-owned gay bar.\\n\\nFor the more than two decades that followed, Orr and Contreras created a sanctuary in Kerrytown\\u2019s Braun Court that sustained and nurtured the local LGBTQ community through myriad social, political, and legislative ups and downs. They bought businesses and buildings over time, served on nonprofit boards and other organizations, and even became friendly with one-time Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean.\\n\\nIn March 2019, the married partners sold the business to Ann Arbor-based BarStar Group. The privately held entertainment investment company specializes in the development, design, construction, and operation\\xa0of hospitality and mixed-use real estate projects. Through the deal, BarStar also acquired the Braun Court buildings that house Spiral Tattoo, the Jim Toy Community Center, and the former Common Language Bookstore.\\n\\nThe news was tough to hear for /aut/Bar\\u2019s tight-knit community, but that was nothing compared to the announcement on June 6, 2020, that BarStar was closing the venue for good.\\n\\n\\u201cDespite the countless hours dedicated to building, strengthening and reimagining the bar\\u2019s future, the financial impact of the COVID-19 crisis has proved \\u2014 as it has for so many small businesses across the country \\u2014 to be simply too much to bear,\\u201d read the owners\\u2019 statement on Facebook.\\n\\nBarStar also owns the local clubs Nightcap, Lo-Fi, and Babs\\u2019 Underground.\\n\\n\\u201cI don\\u2019t have much to say about the decision to close because we haven\\u2019t been part of it,\\u201d Orr says. \\u201cI understand people\\u2019s sadness, anger, and frustration because we need these safe spaces now more than ever.\\u201d\\n\\nHe remembers the day before /aut/BAR opened, when a friend asked, \\u201cSo, are you ready to be community leaders?\\u201d\\n\\nAt that time, gay bars served as places where people gathered not just to meet and party, but to launch fundraisers, find listings of memorial services, and sign up to be a buddy to someone who had HIV or needed support.\\n\\n\\u201cIn Ann Arbor, we had none of that,\\u201d Orr says. \\u201cIf someone \\u2018disappeared\\u2019 from the scene for a few weeks, you\\u2019d wonder, \\u2018Did he move? Or is he dead?\\u2019\\u201d\\n\\nAll that changed once /aut/BAR opened it doors. Instead of a dark and secret hideway, /aut/BAR was bright and warm. The windows were uncovered, the colors were bright. And the brunch was fantastic.\\n\\nIts \\u201cniche\\u201d was the whole community, from the shy college student who was just coming out, to the lesbian couple with a young family.\\n\\n\\u201cWe wanted people to know we were in it for the long haul,\\u201d Contreras says.\\n\\nThat long haul included countless celebrations, protests, Pride events, election parties, engagements, marriages, and memorials. All the while, Orr and Contreras grew into their roles as advocates and activists for LGBTQ rights.\\n\\nEven now, as the club is closed and the community is dispersed due to coronavirus, Orr continues to encourage what Armistead Maupin would call his \\u201clogical family,\\u201d reminding them they are part of something bigger than just a building. BarStar turned over the club\\u2019s social media accounts to Orr and Contreras so the community could remain connected in the digital space.\\n\\nAs Black Lives Matter protests filled the June streets that normally would be rocking Pride parades, Orr took to Facebook to point out the intersections between the groups. He changed the June mantra of \\u201cHappy Pride\\u201d to \\u201cIn Pride we stand with you.\\u2019\\u201d\\n\\n\\u201cThere are plenty of black leaders in the LGBTQ community, and let\\u2019s not forget Pride began as a riot at Stonewall, largely started by people of color and transgender folks,\\u201d he says.\\n\\nIt\\u2019s that kind of empathy and compassion that has informed everything Orr and Contreras have done as business owners and community leaders.\\n\\nSuccess to them is hearing that /aut/BAR was someone\\u2019s first gay club after coming out; that a couple met there and has been married for years; or that a student brought their parents to brunch to introduce them to a community that celebrates the lifestyle, not denigrates it.\\n\\nTo honor the club\\u2019s historic significance to the LGBTQ community, BarStar is returning the brand name, intellectual property, and vintage signage and d\\xe9cor to Contreras and Orr. They hope someone will emerge to take up the torch they carried for so long.\\n\\nIn the meantime, listen in, as the partners reflect on their careers.'