My Sister’s Room: Atlanta’s landmark lesbian bar continues to endure after 28 years

My Sister’s Room has been a cornerstone of Atlanta’s LGBTQIA landscape since it opened in 1996 at Midtown Promenade. Originally opened as My Sister’s Room: A Parlor for Women, the bar quickly became a sanctuary for queer women and their allies.

Over the years, My Sister’s Room (MSR) faced the challenges of rising rents and urban development, relocating numerous times to ensure its survival. Each move — from Midtown to Decatur to East Atlanta and then back to Midtown, before finding its present home on Crescent Avenue — was made as a commitment to creating a welcoming environment for LGBTQ+ people, said Jen Maguire, who owns MSR with her wife, Jami Atlanta. Maguire is known in Atlanta by her stage name, Chase Daniels.

The couple purchased MSR from Susan Musselwhite in 2011, eventually moving it from its then-current home in Decatur to Glenwood Avenue in East Atlanta Village. In 2018, they relocated the bar again to 12th Street in Midtown. MSR was forced to relocate yet again in 2022 when developers announced the bar on 12th Street would be torn down for a new condo development. MSR took over the former Publico space on Crescent Avenue just around the corner.

“Being back in Midtown is like coming full circle,” said Daniels. “Where we are now is our favorite location. It has lots of foot traffic, a large stage for shows and performances, and a view of Atlanta’s skyline.”

Each transition also underscores the precarious nature of LGBTQ+ spaces in a city that is constantly evolving, Daniels said. And in a time when lesbian bars in the U.S. have dwindled from around 200 in the 1980s to less than 35 today, MSR stands as one of the few remaining establishments dedicated specifically to the needs and experiences of queer women. 

“We say we’re a lesbian bar where everyone is welcome,” Daniels, 49, said. “We’re a melting pot and pride ourselves on being one of the more diverse bars. We are very big on welcoming everyone, especially our transgender family.”

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The “secret sauce” to MSR’s longevity as one of the country’s few lesbian bars is being good business owners, Daniels said. That includes the ability to adapt to the needs of different generations of partygoers at MSR. These days, the bar hosts more burlesque performances, comedy nights, women sports watch parties, karaoke, drag king and drag queen shows, and, of course, plenty of dance parties. 

Food is important, too, and the bar sells about a thousand of its signature extra-crispy wings each week. Homemade pizzas are popular. Vegan options are also available now at MSR. It’s part of the mission to make the bar as inclusive as possible and focus on taking care of people.

But My Sister’s Room is more than a nightlife venue in Atlanta. It’s become a space that people can come to for connection, representation and empowerment within the lesbian community and the broader LGBTQ+ spectrum, Daniels said.

“When you come here, you are in a safe space,” she said. “We are like a second, chosen family. We have a lot of people who come here who call us their moms. It’s a good feeling knowing they always have a place to come to.”

Native Atlantan Royce Soble, a photographer and artist, was there when MSR first opened in Midtown nearly 30 years ago. It was a small space where lesbians gathered to drink martinis, smoke cigarettes and talk for hours. But, most importantly, MSR offered the opportunity for community.

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“MSR was a very big part of my younger years. I would go there after work or after class at Georgia State and understood the importance of an establishment where I knew these were my people,” Soble said.

Soble, 51, now identifies as non-binary and no longer visits MSR. But they are grateful MSR still stands in Atlanta, especially for new generations of LGBTQ+ people to have a place to come and express themselves without fear as they navigate figuring out their sexual orientation and gender identity. 

It’s also important for lesbians to know where they can go to meet other women in Atlanta.

“Kudos to Jami and Jen for keeping MSR going and honoring what they can do for their community,” Soble said. 

“They have kept the name going and continue to give people a place to connect and convene and for people to express themselves whether they are queer, lesbians, transgender or non-binary,” Soble added.

For Daniels and Atlanta, they’re grateful and humbled by the support for MSR and want to continue being a place that lifts up the LGBTQ+ community in the city and beyond. 

“We couldn’t do what we do without the people of Atlanta,” Daniels said. 

MSR My Sister’s Room, 1104 Crescent Avenue, Midtown. Open Wednesday, 8 p.m. to 2 a.m.; Thursday, 10 p.m. to 3 a.m.; Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m. to 3 a.m.; and Sunday, 7 p.m. to 12 a.m. MSR is an official sponsor of Atlanta Pride, hosting dance parties and drag shows throughout the festival weekend.

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