A Western Massachusetts bar at the center of a Covid masking controversy last month is moving toward closing down, according to a message it posted Monday on social media.
The bar, the Last Ditch, said on its website that it was founded for lesbians, as well as “transexuals, gender freaks, workers and their friends,” an oasis for safe and happy drinking in the tiny city of Greenfield. It became internationally known for the backlash to its owners’ decision to relax a mandatory face mask policy. The hope was that making masks optional on Saturdays would increase business. But opponents of the change argued the bar was abandoning its goals to be welcoming to everyone.
People posting online accused the owners of being ableist and risking the lives of immunocompromised customers. A backlash to the backlash quickly emerged, with people mocking customers and their Covid concerns.
A Boston Globe story in September on the masking dispute went viral, and the travails of the Last Ditch were published by media around the country and overseas.
The publicity appeared to draw dozens of potential customers to the first mask-optional Saturday night after the local controversy became widely known. But the burst of attention was apparently not enough to save the bar in downtown Greenfield, a city of about 17,000 people.
A message on the Last Ditch Instagram page said that the bar needed “new owners ASAP.”
“We are SOFT CLOSING effective immediately, all BOOKED events will CONTINUE, otherwise we are CLOSED,” the message read. “Love and solidarity to all.”
“We have put our lives on hold to foster networks of care, resources, and a home base for organizing,” the posting said. “It’s time we pass it on.”
The bar’s social media listed several scheduled events this week, including an open mic night and karaoke.
Three housemates, Asa Rosario, Jackie Matellian and Sage Territo, opened the bar in 2025, hoping to fill a need after two queer bars in the region had closed in recent years.
A message to the bar’s email account on Monday returned an automated response saying, “We are community run for the community, so we are slow to reply.”
Amy Cahillane, the community and economic development director for Greenfield, said Monday that “it is always a shame to lose a small business,” especially one that was a valuable part of the city’s downtown.
The post Last Ditch, a Bar Whose Mask Policy Tore It Apart, Will Close appeared first on New York Times.
