Building a space where you truly feel comfortable outside of home or work can be difficult. For many in the LGBTQ+ community, just finding one can even be a challenge.
Fortunately business owners and advocates have already built a number of intentionally inclusive spaces across Central Florida and Tampa Bay that extend far beyond clubs and bars, traditional venues that welcome the community.
From neighborhood coffee shops and bookstores to climbing gyms and meaderies, these gathering places offer opportunities for people to connect, build community and simply exist as themselves.
Sociologist Ray Oldenburg coined the term “third place” in 1989 to describe the spaces we spend time outside of home (our first place) and work (our second place). These informal gathering places foster conversation, relationships and a sense of belonging, serving as the social fabric of a community.
Whether you’re looking for a regular hangout or simply hoping to discover somewhere new, here are some explicitly queer and undeniably inclusive third places across Florida worth adding to your radar.
Starting with Central Florida in Orlando’s Milk District, BookBurn Cafe and Social is a shining example of what an accepting, inclusive and welcoming third place looks like. Queer and Filipino-owned, BookBurn’s mission centers on creating a comfortable space for the LGBTQ+ community, especially those with intersecting identities.
Knowing what it feels like to be unwelcome, even in spaces intended for LGBTQ+ people, BookBurn Owner and Founder Jonny Sta. Ana says it was important to him to create an intentional space where everyone could feel supported. That mission comes to life through its collection of banned books filled with community annotations, drag-led open mic nights and single-origin coffee sourced from the Philippines.
“For me, a third space needs that comfort of home, but for BookBurn, I think it’s really the awareness of your surroundings and being able to exist within this small corner of the world and feel that you belong here,” Sta. Ana tells Watermark Out News. “That, to me, is the BookBurn third space.”
For Sta. Ana, one of the driving factors in starting BookBurn was to create a space to celebrate the immense diversity throughout the city of Orlando. In Sta. Ana’s experience, he says that a space may be accepting of queerness, but less so of racial diversity or disabilities. It may be representative of those who identify as gay or lesbian, he says, but exclude those who identify as trans.
“We really love everyone here,” Sta. Ana says. “I love talking to people. My team loves talking to people, and we just love loving on everyone. The acceptance here and the sense of belonging here is real, and it’s not fake. It is as true and as real as it gets, and we’re just waiting on the rest of the world to stop in.”
With its spacious taproom, moody atmosphere and steady lineup of queer-led events, Zymarium Meadery has become another welcoming third place for LGBTQ+ Central Floridians. The Meadery regularly partners with organizations like the Orlando Gayming League and hosts events including lesbian speed dating, giving people opportunities to connect in an already affirming environment.
Ginger Leigh, co-owner and the audiovisual artist responsible for the unique design of Zymarium’s taproom, says the idea to create an inclusive third place was heavily influenced by her two uncles. Leigh says that she grew up celebrating holidays with her uncles, who had been together for decades, and who would always welcome various friends and community members into their home to share in the celebration.
“For me, they defined what it is to build and share a community, and I didn’t learn until later in life that the openness and inclusiveness that I was fortunate to grow up around was not shared by everyone,” Leigh says. “When creating the space that is Zymarium Meadery, this inspiration was a big part of what shaped my vision to create a space that is always welcoming, inclusive, supportive and inspiring.”
Among the concrete things the team has put in place to distinguish Zymarium as a safe space, Leigh says, they also let people know through the events they host and groups they partner with, including PRIDE social events and LGBTQ+ weddings.
“Many of our staff have been with us since we first opened, and having staff who genuinely embody the ideals of inclusiveness is extremely important because inclusiveness can’t just be a rule you tell your staff to follow; it has to be something they believe in,” Leigh says.
Stardust Video & Coffee is a local staple in the Audubon Park area and has been around since the 90s. A regular community gathering for years, Stardust has evolved from a VHS video store and coffee shop to a full-on cafe and event space.
Today, Stardust doubles as a bookstore, art gallery, concert venue, pop-up market and meeting place for local clubs, poetry readings and chess competitions. Over the years, Stardust has built quite a reputation, yet one that Katie Gower, an employee for over seven years, says has always been inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community.
“We try to be welcoming to everyone, no matter what your inclination,” Gower says. “We like all the weirdos, or what other people would say are weirdos. We are that, so we like that, and we try to be welcoming and encouraging. You want to get dressed up and wear your fun outfit and not be judged and have people be excited about that? … this is the place.”
Gower says a big part of Stardust’s inclusiveness is wanting to create a space that the people running it — which she describes as overall queer and outside of social status quo norms — would feel comfortable in themselves.
“We have food, we have alcohol, we have people to talk to, we have a photo booth, we have art to look at,” Gower says. “We just have a lot of stuff that makes it easy to be here and be here for a prolonged period of time.”
Other welcoming spaces around Central Florida include Austin’s Coffee, Black Phin Coffee Bar, Blackbird Comics & Coffeehouse, the Downtown Orlando Public Library and Drunken Monkey Coffee Bar.
Tampa Bay has its own collection of standout third places. Felicitous Coffee & Tea House has become a popular gathering spot for students, creatives and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
The café regularly hosts free community nights, themed artist showcases and other events.
Owners Corrinne Liou and Paul Venghaus say when someone walks into Felicitous for the first time, some cues that let them know they belong there include a pride flag, overgrown vines outside their window and year-round Halloween and witch decor inside.
“I never had a third space growing up,” Venghaus wrote to Watermark Out News. “We used to go out into nature and explore until I was old enough, then we were causing trouble in shopping malls and Walmart parking lots. Third places are a relatively new thing and I’m glad we’re able to provide one for so many across Tampa.”
The owners shared that they get comments on their social media from people who’ve met their significant other or partner at Felicitous and have even heard from former baristas who came to work at Felicitous specifically for their inclusiveness.
“We have zero tolerance for discrimination of any kind and take it a step further by reassuring our staff that, while welcoming environment and hospitality is our trade, we are never hesitant to fire customers when necessary, and have done so before when they make someone feel uncomfortable in any way,” Liou shares. “Specifically for the LGBTQ community, we are known to proudly fly the flag outside and support wellness promotions, campaigning events and meetups for many LGBTQ groups.”
For some inclusive athletic activity, Vertical Ventures is a climbing gym in St. Petersburg focused on cultivating a welcoming community within their space. This recent Pride Month, the gym celebrated with a rainbow buddy route and local LGBTQ+ vendors.
“We have a couple of events that we host every month,” Rhea Thorne, a shift leader at Vertical Ventures, says. “We have an adaptive climb session, we have sensory Sundays, we also have Pride flags in our building, so it’s a very welcoming space.”
Thorne says that, to her, Vertical Ventures is about giving people a place where they can build confidence, have fun and step away from the stresses of everyday life for a while.
“Everyone gets a welcome in when they come in, and a bye when they leave,” Thorne shares. “And then all of us are friendly at the front here, and we’re all down to either climb with you or guide you on how to get better at climbing.”
Other notable third places in the Tampa Bay area include Emerald City Comics, FloridaRAMA, Studio@620, St. Petersburg Shuffleboard Club and Tombolo Books.
As conversations continue about loneliness, community and belonging, spaces like these demonstrate that third places are more than somewhere to grab a coffee or attend an event. For many LGBTQ+ people specifically, they’re places to build friendships, celebrate identity and find everyday connection.
For more information, visit BookBurnOfficial.com, Zymarium.com, StardustVideoAndCoffee.WPcomStaging.com, FelicitousCoffee.com and VerticalVentures.com.
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