Halifax LGBTQ2S bar ‘Rumours’ at risk of closing due to rising costs

A well-known bar that has been a space for Halifax’s LGBTQ2S community says it’s struggling to keep the doors open and is asking the public for help to prevent them from ever closing down.

Gerald McCowan and Jose Chiu, the owners of Rumours Cabaret, posted on Facebook on Sunday that they had approximately two months to secure a new, two-year lease and ensure it has the financial stability to continue.

“It’s not a bar, it’s a community space for everybody and everyone. Straight people, gay people, trans people, doesn’t matter,” said McCowan in an interview with Global News.

The financial issues are large, with McCowan saying the new lease that begins in November is jumping by about $6,000 per month, bringing costs to $18,000 monthly before taxes.

Those costs don’t include other expenses like security, DJs, payroll, garbage, repairs and anything else it takes to run the business.

Given the costs, the couple has now turned to the public, asking for donations to a crowdfunding campaign — something neither wanted to do.

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“It’s hard for us to make this decision that we went on GoFundMe to get support from the community because we don’t want to close the bar, we want to keep the doors open,” Chiu said.

The bar first opened in 2024, financed by McCowan who invested money from a settlement from Veterans Affairs Canada.

But its opening was actually a revival, bringing it back to Halifax decades after its former location on Gottingen Street closed down in the 1990s.

The couple has a two-month window to come up with an extra $18,000 to secure a lease.

“I’m looking at our finances. Looking at everything and the numbers, they just don’t work,” McCowan said.

There’s another reason behind wanting to keep Rumours open. McCowan and Chiu pointed to the recent closure of ARIS Bar and Nightclub in Moncton as another queer-friendly space disappearing.

“There’s definitely a need for these places that have historically served as places of communion, places of protest, places of joy,” said Teri Appleby, owner of Stardust Bar and Kitchen, another LGBTQ2S space in Halifax.

Appleby told Global News it’s integral for spaces like Rumours to exist for the community.

The Downtown Halifax Business Commission also offered its support in a statement.

“‘Rumours,’ as a name, has a long history in the LGBTQ+ community in Downtown Halifax,” it wrote. “We (DHBC) were excited when Gerald and Jose opened the NEW Rumours, and we hope to see it continue in Downtown Halifax for years to come.”

The GoFundMe raised more than $4,000 in less than 24 hours.

If the bar is unable to reach its goal, McCowan warned the business could suffer the same fate as the Rumours bar from the 1990s. He told Global News it would be difficult to move the business to a new location, likely costing tens of thousands of dollars.

“We will be closed, very simple, there’s no doubt about it. Rumours will close for a second time,” he said.