Local gay men treat this as their living room,” Farnsworth said of Streetbar. Arenas relied on local foot traffic rather than tourists. Then, Palm Springs was firmly a seasonal destination, and was often quiet from June to October. "These bars are more than just drinking places for people this is where the community comes together.”ĭavid Farnsworth, now the co-owner and general manager of Streetbar, started working at the business in 2000. “For the LGBT community, we are dependent on our chosen families,” he said. Some started GoFundMe pages for Arenas bars.īecause of those loyal customers and friends, “we are still here,” Giesecke said.
Customers sat in outdoor patios in 120-degree heat when they could have stayed home. Rob Giesecke, the owner of Chill Bar Palm Springs, partially credits his business’ survival to the tight-knit community that came together and “formed ranks” around the historic street. The state plans to get rid of its tier system all together on June 15, given the vaccine supply is adequate and hospitalizations remain low. Establishments that serve meals can open indoors with a capacity limit of 50% or 200 people, whichever is less. Riverside County moved to the orange level of California’s four-tiered, color-coded reopening framework in April, meaning bars that don’t serve food can now be open outside with modifications. Many bar owners on Arenas are now cautiously optimistic that there’s an end in sight. The bar's owner could not be reached for comment. Despite more than a year of on-and-off closures and fluctuating health mandates, at least six of the seven bars on Arenas Road are open again. The only question mark is Stacy's Palm Springs, which has been open intermittently, but appears to have been closed for the last few weeks.
Palm Springs has long been one of the most popular LGBTQ destinations in the country. “It’s like, ‘My god, you're still alive.’” “Some people we haven’t seen for about a year and a half,” said 57-year-old Tony Lawrence, sitting with his partner and two friends outside Quadz bar. Masks, occupancy limits and social distancing aside, it could be any pre-pandemic Friday night on Arenas Road, an entire block lined with gay bars and businesses in downtown Palm Springs. Up the street, a server at Hunters offers up a tray of neon Jello shots to customers sitting on the patio. Outside, a group of women in all pink and matching cowboy hats arrive on the back of a bar bike. Bartenders at Chill Bar are slinging drinks - a vodka soda here, a couple “margarita martinis” there - beneath two glittering, life-size mannequins suspended from the ceiling. Please be aware of changing local rules, and check individual restaurant websites for any additional restrictions such as mask requirements. The latest CDC guidance for vaccinated diners during the COVID-19 outbreak is here dining out still carries risks for unvaccinated diners and workers.
Note that restaurants are listed geographically. Whether you want to pop back into a go-to favorite or try one of the many newbies on the scene, here are 21 essential Palm Springs-area restaurants to hit during your next jaunt to the desert. Southern Californians are hitting Palm Springs in droves right now, which is good news for the city’s growing array of restaurants that, as they did here in LA, expanded outdoor seating during the pandemic before reopening dining rooms last year. If you haven’t spent a winter or spring weekend in the desert, there’s no time like the present, with weather perfect for chilling-by-the-pool days and warming-by-the-fire nights.