West Palm Beach will contribute $166,000 to rebuild of iconic LGBTQ bar Roosters

West Palm Beach is contributing $166,000 in grant money to the $1.7-million rebuild of historic HG Roosters, an iconic LGBTQ bar on Belvedere Road that was destroyed by fire in May of 2020.

"I heartily support this," Mayor Keith James said during a City Commission meeting Wednesday evening. "HG Roosters has been a landmark, if you will, in this city on behalf of the LGBTQ community, and I think that this is something we should certainly do as a city to keep that building up and running and for what it stands for."

The fire that gutted Roosters, which began with oily rags that had been used to sand benches, was an exclamation point of pain in a city whose businesses were reeling during the coronavirus pandemic.

Roosters, like other restaurants and bars, had closed in March of 2020 as coronavirus cases exploded in Palm Beach County and across the country. But rather than stop paying its eight employees, the bar's owners opted to stop paying property insurance premiums instead.

It was a fateful decision. Two months after the bar was closed, it was gutted by fire.

Fire crews saved the shell of the building, but a cherished place of belonging and fun for the LGBTQ community was gone.

Randy Christiansen, a business partner of the bar's owner, A.J. Wasson, told commissioners Wednesday that Wasson was always determined to rebuild.

"A few hours after receiving the 2 a.m. phone call informing us that Roosters had been gutted by fire, I asked him what he was going to do," Christiansen said. "He said, 'Roosters doesn't belong to me. It belongs to the community. We have to rebuild it.'"

The $165,975 building improvement grant from the city's economic development program was the last financial piece needed to accomplish that goal, City Administrator Faye Johnson said.

Because the grant exceeded the program's $100,000 cap, commissioners needed to give their approval. Their vote on Wednesday was unanimous.

"This site has had a long, rich history in the LGBTQ community," Commissioner Christina Lambert said.

Added Commissioner Christy Fox: "I'm glad we're able to help. I'm looking forward to the ribbon-cutting."

Johnson said that could take place late this year when the building is expected to re-open.

How much will it cost to rebuild Roosters?

Roosters was put on the city's register of historic places in 2021, thought then to be only the third LGBTQ bar in the country honored with that designation with the others being the Atlanta Eagle in Georgia and the Stonewall Inn in New York, site of the riots in 1969 that were a major flashpoint in the push for LGBTQ rights and acceptance.

Roosters helped organize Palm Beach County's first gay pride parade, held at Howard Park in 1992. The bar has also helped raise awareness and money in the battle against AIDS and cancer.

"While it is a bar and entertainment facility, it is much, much more in terms of what it provides to the community," Johnson said. "It has been a safe haven in our community for that segment of our population. The facility and the owners have established themselves as being leaders in terms of different philanthropic efforts whether it relates to help with the AIDS pandemic or breast cancer awareness and a number of charity-type initiatives that have been supported by the owners."

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Private donations, including $9,000 from a local firefighters union, will account for $80,000 of the rebuilding costs. A line of credit will cover the biggest chunk, $974,500, with the owner contributing $477,012, and the city grant covering the rest.

Former City Commission member Kelly Shoaf, working with the group rebuilding Roosters, applied for the grant on behalf of the bar.

Johnson said the city's grant money will be used to pay for HVAC replacement, exterior awnings, door and window replacement and bar equipment.

The re-opened Roosters will have a kitchen, enabling it to hire 10 new employees in addition to the eight the bar had when it closed, Johnson said.

Roosters 'learned a hard lesson' on not getting property insurance

Commissioner Shalonda Warren said she, too, was excited about the prospect of the bar's reopening. She pressed Johnson and Christiansen on whether the new hires would be local.

Christiansen said the bar has always hired locally and expected to continue that policy. The city's grant requires that it remain open for at least five years in its current location.

Commissioner Joseph Peduzzi said he has little doubt that Roosters will meet that expectation. But he said he wanted another commitment: that the bar owners maintain their property insurance.

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"It protects the city's investment so we don't have to be here in five or 10 years from now, god forbid, with a similar situation," he said.

Christiansen said property insurance decision "was a hard, learned lesson."

"I'm sure that the bank that's holding the line of credit will be making us maintain that insurance," he said.

Wayne Washington is a journalist covering West Palm Beach, Riviera Beach and race relations at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at wwashington@pbpost.com. Help support our work; subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: West Palm Beach to rebuild LGBTQ+ bar with no property insurance