The return of a gay resort?
Rumors have been swirling around St. Petersburg that The Suncoast Resort will make a grand return sometime this year. While that statement isn’t entirely true, there is hope that an LGBT resort will return to the area by year’s end. The Knights Inn along 34th Street South, just a few blocks away from the site of the former Suncoast, is rumored to be an LGBT resort by the end of the summer. Getting details on it, however, has proven difficult. A large fence was erected around the site and tax deeds at the Pinellas County Tax office only list the owner as a lending company out of New York. The site was initially scheduled to become the Stonewall Resort last year, but the land deal fell through at the closing table. Current owners have remained tight-lipped about the hotel’s future, but rest assured, if it does become a new LGBT resort, the community will more than likely rally behind it.
Blue Jeans is now BG’s
Speaking of resurrecting past bars, a throng of rainbow flags and banners greets drivers along Gandy Boulevard at the site of the former Blue Jeans bar in Pinellas County. The new venue, Club BG, is at 10387 Gandy Blvd. N. and appears to be a happy-hour/neighborhood style club. When Watermark stopped by upon spotting the banners, the place was locked up tight. But rest assured, the place is open and apparently quite proud to be an LGBT hangout.
Florida doesn’t claim IML title
The International Mr. Leather Title did not come back to Florida this year, but that’s quite okay, according to Mr. Gulf Coast Florida Leather organizer Lincoln Calcavecci. Mr. Gulf Coast Florida Leather 2009 Matt Wolf competed at the international contest and made a strong showing. However, he didn’t break into the top 20. The contest was the first for Wolf, who had never won a title before winning his Florida title late last year. According to Calcavecci, Wolf chalked this year up to experience and has dedicated himself to quite a bit of volunteer work.
