US Lesbian Venue, The Last Ditch Bar, To Close Following Viral Covid Mask Controversy

The Last Ditch Bar, a Massachusetts lesbian bar that recently went viral for dropping its Covid mask policy on Saturdays, is closing. According to an official announcement from the bar’s Instagram page, the venue needs new owners “ASAP”.

“WE ARE CLOSING,” the caption reads. “We have put our lives on hold to foster networks of care, resources, and a home base for organizing. It’s time we pass it on.

“We’ve been fighting since the beginning to fill out the team, and we still don’t have a board/leadership to manage workers owned Co-op transfer.”

According to the post, this “soft closing” is effective immediately, though all booked events will continue into the US winter.

The Last Ditch Bar’s Closure Follows Viral Controversy

The news comes after the Greenfield bar, which marketed itself as accessible for disabled and chronically ill people, opted to make masks optional on Saturday nights to get more foot traffic through the door.

“Simple, right?” wrote Star Observer’s Chloe Sargeant earlier this month. “WRONG. Last Ditch Bar has now ended up with an online firestorm that’s gone from one bonkers update to the next.”

Up until that point, the bar had required all patrons to wear a well-fitting KN95 respirator or better to accommodate immunocompromised and COVID-conscious people. In a world still struggling with spiking COVID rates, that policy was part of what people came for. 

For patrons concerned about infection, knowing others would also be masked made this a different proposition from an ordinary night out. For disabled people, it was a level of safety they’d probably never experienced before. 

But the business struggled. Two co-founders stepped away, leaving Jackie Matellian handling its daily operations – various reports of the company’s financial situation have surfaced since 2025. 

Accordingly, the bar opted to make masks optional on Saturdays to bring in more customers and their dollars.

“It is with love we inform our immunocompromised disabled divas we will be opening Saturday nights as mask optional,” the announcement read, with masked bookings and a recurring monthly masked social set to remain a priority for the venue.

The announcement was promptly met with backlash and a feature in the Boston Globe, the latter of which spurred a firestorm online.