Just months after closing doors on its 8737 Santa Monica Blvd location in June, West Hollywood LGBTQ+ staple Gym Sports Bar plans to reopen in Spring 2021.
According to a license filed with the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, the newly re-branded Gym Sports Bar and Grill will operate at 8919 Santa Monica Blvd in West Hollywood –– mere blocks from the original location, replacing Halal Guys (which closed its doors in June.) The new name suggests a greater emphasis on food service than the previous location, and the license filed with the ABC lists the establishment as a “GENERAL EATING PLACE.”
Hunter Haliniak, a co-owner, posted a fundraiser on GoFundMe in late January giving details on the re-opening and asking for $75,000 to assist with construction and permits. As of the publishing of this piece, Gym Sports Bar and Grill has raised $18,460 of the $75,000 goal.
Let’s hope the WeHo neoliberal gays manage to keep this location alive. Seeing one old gay white man silently destroy so much of what LA calls their “history” has been disconcerting, to say the least…