(Photo via Sapphire Lounge’s Instagram)
ORLANDO | Orlando’s first and only sapphic lounge and restaurant, Sapphire Lounge, will open Sept. 4, just ahead of Labor Day weekend.
The grand opening will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony, DJs, go-go dancers and outdoor patio space. The two-story building was previously home to Heatwave, a queer café, cocktail bar and nightlife venue but the business closed on March 8. The location is also the former Stonewall Bar Orlando building.
Owner of Sapphire Lounge Jay Ruiz says guests can expect a safe place for everybody to come together and connect. She wants the lounge to be a space for community events, artists and entertainers.
“We don’t want it to be like nothing else here in Orlando, and it won’t be like nothing else here in Orlando,” Ruiz shares.
Ruiz says the biggest goal is to make Sapphire Lounge a safe place as she knows that women want to feel safe when they meet new people. She says that she will be working with the community to see what events they should host as they are building this space for the community.
Melissa Vitali, general manager, says although it is a sapphic lounge, all in the LGBTQ+ community are welcome. The goal was to make Sapphire Lounge a place to connect with others and for LGBTQ+ women to express themselves. Vitali noted Sapphire Lounge will not be a club.
“Our goal with this venue here was kind of just to create a community space, and we’re both part of the community, and we felt that there was a need for more sapphic spaces, as we like to call it,” Vitali says. “But at the same time, we were like, ‘We don’t want this to just be for women,’ right? Like, we want this for community.”
Sapphire Lounge will be located at 741 W. Church St., Orlando, and the grand opening is scheduled for Sept. 4 from 9 p.m.-2 a.m. More information will be shared on Sapphire Lounge’s Instagram @SapphireLounge407.
