Largo’s Vicki Gibson found safety in gay bars—now she runs one of her own

When Vicki Gibson opened the Lady’s Room lesbian bar in Largo last April, it was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. Gibson was born and raised not far from her bar on Ulmerton Road. Growing up, her mom kicked her out after finding out she was gay. Without a home to return to, Gibson says she found solace in lesbian and gay bars.

“My mom just got mad one day and put my clothes into a brown paper bag,” Gibson told Creative Loafing, “She said I wasn't hers.”

With a bag of clothes in-hand, Gibson took a bus to St. Petersburg, where she knew of a club later known as “Grand Central Station.”

“It was my escape,” Gibson said. “I sat there drinking pina coladas until they closed, then I slept on a bench until they opened again. It was a safe space.”
Grand Central Station, formerly known as DT’s lounge, was located in what would soon become the Grand Central District. According to Brian Longstreth, one of the St. Pete Pride co-founders, activist and realtor (Punky’s, Pride, Gay St. House), DT’s had long been a fixture in the scene. “It was a long time gay neighborhood dive bar,” Longstreth told Creative Loafing Bay.

Longstreth said the original owner, Wayne Palmer, became the first person to donate to St. Pete Pride, before it was even incorporated. In 2002, Palmer sold the property to new owners who renamed it Grand Central Station for the new neighborhood. A year later, St. Pete Pride held its first parade in the Grand Central, celebrating the end of Florida’s ban on same-sex couples. But Gibson remembered it as a home.

“I was off the streets in a safe place and I relied on that,” Gibson said. “One thing I could never get out of my mind was wanting to more or less bring that back.”

Her dream was to open a lesbian bar, the kind of place that made her feel safe when she had nowhere else to go. She moved back to the area in 2015 with that dream in mind. In 2022, she opened Lady’s Room—located at 9057 Ulmerton Rd.—and in doing so created arguably the only dedicated lesbian bar open in Florida.

Located in a strip mall alongside Atomic Tattoos, and TJ’s Soul Food, sits the Lady’s Room. Think ‘70s and ‘80s aesthetics, a proper dance floor, a proper stage, plus good food and good drinks. The spot does drag king and queen shows, open mics, karaoke nights and more. When it's busy, it's really busy. But on a random Thursday night in May, things were slow.

“It's a safe place to go with the ones you love,” Gibson said. “A place to go and escape for a while.”

But the bar has struggled between COVID-19, last fall’s hurricanes, and the anti-LGBTQ legislated climate created under Gov. Ron Desantis.

“Employees are afraid of somebody coming into the bar and shooting up the place,” Gibson said. “Today was the third day in a row I had ‘Jesus Saves’ cards taped all over the windows and doors.”

Gibson says she’s sold all her assets and put everything into the Lady’s Room but it isn’t enough. So friend and bar regular Tina Sapia decided to help. She posted Tik Tok videos of Gibson talking about what Florida’s last lesbian bar is facing. She went viral. The Cruising Pod, a podcast dedicated to traveling the country visiting what remains of America’s lesbian bars, picked up the story.

@cruisingpod Replying to @ashtray_heart69 Thank you!! The outpouring of love and support for The Lady’s Room on TikTok has been amazing!! Now they need us all to show up in person and keep the bar alive! If you’re local to Largo, FL stop by. If you’re not local, help us spread the word. You know what to do! ❤️🌈 #lesbiansoftiktok #florida #lesbianbar #loveislove #lgbtqia #lgbtqflorida #lesbiansofflorida #queer ♬ Lo-Fi analog beat - Gloveity

“It’s been incredible,” Sapia told CL. “To see these people coming out to support the bar and Vicki.”

Soon millions of people across the country were tuned into Gibson’s plight. The video was shared by “Princess Diaries” actress and lesbian activist Heather Matarazzo, who asked the lesbian and LGBTQ community to come out and show support in “fascist Florida.”

“If you’re an ally, if you’re a lesbian, if you’re a part of the LGBTQ community, please go support the lady’s room,” Matarazzo said in the video. “There’s only one lesbian bar in Florida, only one. Lesbians are I know we’re really happy at home with our cats, I don’t want to go out but we’ve got to.”

A GoFundMe has raised over $40k since April. That’s helped Gibson pay off some of the debt, but she needs a steadier clientele if she’s going to stay open.

“I’ve sold all my property, I’ve tried banks and finance companies,” Gibson said. “They won’t touch it, they won’t say it’s because I’m a lesbian—but that’s what it felt like.”

In the last few weeks, Gov. Desantis has signed a slew of anti-LGBTQ legislation, banning minors at drag shows, the Don’t Say Gay law for students and educators, and gender-affirming care for minors. The impact is a chill on business at the Lady’s Room once again. “People are afraid to go out,” Gibson said.

But she isn’t slowing down anytime soon, there’s a full roster of shows planned as Pride approaches.

“I was disabled and in bed 24/7 and this gets me out of bed in the morning,” Gibson said. “I just want to keep making it better.”

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