FROM METRO STREETS TO APPALACHIAN TRAILS

Kentucky entrepreneurs launch virtual micro-school to support LGBTQ+ students amid hostile climate

March 27, 2025 | Business, Kentucky

Amid growing hostility toward LGBTQ+ youth from federal and state governments, two Kentucky entrepreneurs have launched a virtual micro school that fosters community engagement and uses virtual reality to create an affirming, supportive learning environment for LGBTQ+ high school students. Co-founders of The Harbor Academy, Louisvillians Dr. Josh Covington, a former teacher, and Taylor Young, […]

Neonatal Clinicians, Entrepreneurs Develop LullaFeed to Support Infants with Feeding Challenges

March 12, 2025 | Business, Kentucky

LullaFeed, a smart baby bottle device, uses lullabies to support infants with feeding difficulties.

| Business, Kentucky

Sweet Resilience: How Hip Hop Sweet Shop Rose from the Ashes

February 3, 2025 | Business, Culture, Health, Hospitality, Kentucky, News

When Lafesa Johnson first started baking, it was out of necessity and creativity. As a young single mother of three, she learned early on how to make the most out of limited resources. When expensive birthday cakes were out of reach, Lafesa began crafting cakes for her children using techniques she picked up from cake-decorating […]

| Business, Culture, Health, Hospitality, Kentucky, News

Ten Queer-owned businesses to support during the post-holiday sales slump

January 21, 2025 | Business, Kentucky

Businesses suffer in January! Here are a few to support this month.

| Business, Kentucky

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Civitas opens nominations for inaugural LGBTQ+ Awards Ga(y)la in Louisville

December 18, 2024 Business, Kentucky

Civitas, the LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce for Kentucky and the Ohio River Valley, announced that nominations are now open for its inaugural Awards Ga(y)la.

Trouble Bar to close, making way for new community-centered venture

December 13, 2024 Business, Kentucky

The beloved queer-friendly hub Trouble Bar will pour its last drinks on New Year’s Eve, as owners prepare to transform the space into a new business continuing their legacy of advocacy and community connection.

Pink Shirt, Pink Hat, and the Western Kentucky BBQ Belt

November 3, 2024 Rural/Appalachia, Business, Culture, Hospitality

I grew up in the outskirts of Henderson County in Western Kentucky. For as long as I can remember, every Christmas, birthday, or day worth celebrating had a central staple: Thomason’s BBQ Baked Beans. When I tell y’all it’s a special local business, I mean it. But, don’t just take my word for it. A […]

Shopping for Community at Cry Baby General Store

October 18, 2024 Business, Kentucky

Cry Baby General Store is nestled comfortably in the Shelby Park neighborhood of Louisville, offering a wide selection of products like chainstitch embroidered apparel, toilet paper, cards, and crocheted catnip-filled doobies made by “my friend’s cousin’s wife.” You could even find a certain fabulous queer publication on the shelves. But products aren’t all that Cry […]

Bridging the Divide with New Riff’s Jay Dickerson

September 25, 2024 Business

In a recent study, Coqual.org revealed that approximately ⅓ of Black leave corporate America within two years of employment. Now, when I think about this from the bourbon industry. I noticed that when I go on tours of distilleries across the state, I see very little representation of people of color. This led me to […]

Garnished with Glitter: The Rise of the Mocktail

September 17, 2024 Issue 6, Business, Substance Use

photos by Milkman Photography The booze beginning I did not grow up with queer people around me in rural Kentucky. But, I did have a fabulous, good country woman as a grandmother. She taught me how to cook, how to be myself no matter what anyone thought, and how to fight to survive in a […]

The Kentucky Hug: Eddie Fieldhouse’s Vision for Bourbon Tourism

September 15, 2024 Business, In-State Travel, Issue 6

photos by Reed Sampley Read about how this rising CEO’s booking platform revolutionizes the Bourbon Trail, paving the way for inclusive experiences in Kentucky. Eddie Fieldhouse dunks a tea bag into hot water as he sits across from me in a Louisville coffee house. We’re both a bit windswept and wet from the rain, and […]

From Doubt to Devotion: How Hannah Lowen Rediscovered Kentucky’s Bourbon Heart

September 8, 2024 Issue 6, Business

Photos by Samuel Greenhill After swearing that she would never return to Kentucky, it was a handshake in a dog park that brought Hannah Lowen back. Lowen was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, surrounded by horses, Bourbon culture, and friends who didn’t look like her. Both of her parents were New Yorkers who had […]

Big dreams in a small town: Burton James Whiskey puts Adairville on the map

September 4, 2024 Issue 6, Business, In-State Travel

photos by Frankie Fiore Adairville is a small Kentucky town located in Logan County, about a mile and a half from the Tennessee border. About 800 folks call this farming community home, and most families have resided there for generations. Shawn McCormick is one such resident, and while he wasn’t born in Adairville, his family’s […]

Brown-Forman, University of Kentucky gut DEI initiatives

August 26, 2024 Hospitality, Business

After the murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd in 2020, something shifted in the world — at least for a little bit. Conversations surrounding race and LGBTQ+ equality infiltrated family dinner tables and corporate boardrooms across the United States. Four years later, the once touted DEI initiatives are being cut. Last week, Bourbon powerhouse […]

What’s the White House Doing for LGBTQ+ Businesses in Kentucky?

August 7, 2024 Business

Just days before Joe Biden’s history-making decision to remove himself from the 2024 presidential race, Chief Economist of Biden’s Invest in America Cabinet Heather Boushey visited with LGBTQ+ business leaders in Louisville. She shared successes from the past four years, heard common issues and solutions from local businesses and emphasized how queer Kentuckians play a […]

15 Queer Businesses to Support During Pride Month and Beyond

June 28, 2024 Business

Pride month is over, y’all. But that doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate queer-owned businesses across the state! Purchasing your goods and services from LGBTQ+ owned businesses is one of the best ways to celebrate pride all year long. Check out these 15 vendors…and by no means is this an exhausted list. Lexington Sam’s Hot Dog […]

Leading with Pride: Matt Dodd’s Story of Success and Advocacy

June 20, 2024 Sponsored Content, Business

How a McDonald’s franchisee is using his platform to support and uplift communities in the Louisville area. It wasn’t even a week into Pride month when I got to meet with Matt Dodd at Flanagan’s Ale House in Louisville. Hoping to get away from the June heat, we each order a drink and start talking […]

Sweet Evening Breeze: Honoring the legacy, paving a path and sending a message

June 6, 2024 Health, Business

“As long as you live in this house, you’re going to act a certain way. I don’t want you embarrassing me.” The words change as they echo from parents’ mouths but the feeling is universal for children who hear them: you are not welcome. Children like Robyn, who was fourteen years old when she came […]

The Head Butch in Charge: Missy Spears

June 3, 2024 Business, Issue 5

Queer Kentucky’s New Executive Director to Lead Organization’s Future This story is part of ISSUE 05: Reimagining Masculinity. The magazine is available for purchase here. Before I understood queerness, I understood masculinity. When I was a child I emulated masculine stereotypes at every turn, grabbing a hammer I could barely hold to help on a […]

Southern LGBTQ+ nonprofits receive most funding from outside of region

May 31, 2024 Business

In 2019, LGBTQ+ nonprofits received 0.13% of all charitable donations, despite roughly one in six gen z adults identifying as LGBTQ+. The number of people identifying as queer continues to grow as younger generations are generally more educated, open, and accepting of all sexualities, genders, and orientations. Despite younger populations becoming more accepting, states and […]

$2 million endowment to enhance lives of LGBTQ+ youth in Kentucky

May 29, 2024 Business

Kentucky LGBTQ+ nonprofits deserve more funding from Kentucky foundations. Because of increasing hostility towards our community in the Bluegrass and across the United States, our nonprofit ecosystem is growing and expanding resources while we race for an almost fabled pot of gold nestled at the end of an even more elusive rainbow. However, one Louisville-based […]

Lavender Country: A vibe that’s worth the drive

Hospitality, Business, Issue 5, Travel

At Little Mount Lavender, about a mile off the outlet mall exit in Simpsonville, Kentucky, both owners, both named Jason, own what they say is the largest year-round lavender store on the Eastern seaboard. Both Jasons are also in love: Jason Woodlief married Jason Walker, who subsequently became Walker-Woodlief, in 2014, with an officiant and […]

Northern Kentucky Health Department hires from within queer community for its first-ever deputy director

January 24, 2024 Business

In a groundbreaking move towards enhancing public health initiatives, the Northern Kentucky Health Department hired Fort Wright resident, and prominent member of the NKY LGBTQ+ community, Elise Sebastian, as their first-ever deputy director. On December 27, Sebastian stepped into the role, marking a notable organizational shift as the health department aims to fortify its commitment […]

Louisville Pride Foundation appoints interim executive director

January 22, 2024 Business

The Louisville Pride Foundation hired an interim Executive Director who aims to make the Louisville Pride Center more accessible for people of all ages, folks in recovery, and the entire community. In December, the Louisville Pride Foundation’s founding executive director, Mike Slaton, stepped down from his position to take a job with the Louisville Orchestra. […]

Kentucky’s Regional LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce hires new executive director

January 15, 2024 Business

Kentucky’s LGBTQ+ Regional Chamber of Commerce has hired a new executive director and will be hosting monthly events for small and large businesses, corporate suppliers, and entrepreneurs to enhance the LGBTQ+ business ecosystem. The CIVITAS board of directors hired Bryce Cariel to lead the organization into financial and organizational sustainability in 2024. Born a […]

Louisville Pride Foundation Executive Director Mike Slaton to Leave Organization Dec. 31

December 6, 2023 Business

After five years, Louisville Pride Foundation’s first ever Executive Director, Mike Slaton, announced he will leave the organization on December 31. Slaton will join the Louisville Orchestra as their first Major Gifts Officer. Slaton began his time with the Foundation as a volunteer, chairing the operations committee for the inaugural Louisville Pride Festival in 2015. He was the Foundation’s first […]

Three Kentucky Cities, Companies Score 100 on Their Respective HRC Equality Indexes

Business

Three Kentucky cities scored 100 on the twelfth edition of the Municipal Equality Index, the only comprehensive nationwide assessment of LGBTQ+ equality in the areas of municipal policies, laws and services. The three cities are Covington, Lexington, and Louisville. The Municipal Equality Index scores the 50 state capitals, the 200 largest cities in the United […]

Queen of the Rodeo: Entrepreneur Opens Custom Clothing Shop — Velvet Outlaw

October 9, 2023 Business, Culture

Miranda Deaton started Velvet Outlaw out of her natural-born desire to defy the odds and test the limits. The local clothing brand made its official debut in late April 2022 and Deaton’s Nudie inspired suits have been popping up all around the city ever since. Whether featured in local magazines or TikTok fashion trends, Velvet […]

Queer thrift collective opens in Butchertown, offering the gayest gifts

June 12, 2023 Business

by Sophia Lee (she/they)sophia@queerkentucky.com “We want the queer community and adjacent offshoots of that to feel safe here and know that they’re loved and welcome, always and in any circumstance. We really want to be able to help anyone in need while also clothing our queer besties.” – Chaella Higdon When Megan Widmer and Chaella […]

Phëlix Cultivates Black, Queer Joy while Sprouting Roots in New Places

April 5, 2023 Business

By Aaron Thomas he/him Being Black is my activism. My Black joy is resistance, my purest form of protest. Black rest is an inherent right bestowed upon me by my ancestors. My enslaved ancestors will always live free, vicariously through me and the generations after me, because I will empower them with Black joy in […]

‘Work is a Drag’ at Cornett, Amid rising anti-drag sentiment, Kentucky ad agency goes glam in support of self-expression

April 4, 2023 Business

LEXINGTON, Kentucky (March 25, 2023) — With legislative attacks against the LGBTQ+ community sweeping the nation, a Kentucky ad agency is letting it be known that their workplace will always be a safe haven for self-expression. Cornett, a Lexington-based full-service agency, has instituted “Work is a Drag”—an official workplace policy that welcomes and encourages any […]

Queer Workers Form City-Wide Direct-Join Labor Union: First of its Kind in Louisville

March 14, 2023 Business

By Benjamin Berry In late October 2022, after months of organizing, the two dozen workers at local pizzeria, Pizza Lupo, notified management of their intention to unionize as members of the Louisville chapter of Restaurant Workers United (RWU). A young union founded at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, RWU uses a direct-join model through […]

Black, gay publication gives visibility to Louisville’s West End through authentic storytelling

January 30, 2023 Business

“bell hooks was from Berea, I’m from Louisville. Let’s make it happen,” said Talesha Wilson of Black Gay Tymes, a Louisville-based Black archival research project. Working with several organizations, including the Black Leadership Action Coalition of Kentucky (BLACK) and Change Today, Change Tomorrow, Wilson is a full-time organizer who is dedicated to cultivating and maintaining […]

Bodies After Dark: a Black, queer variety show to enhance community within a safe space

January 24, 2023 Business, Culture

Ready to see the most random, queer, gender roles fucking variety show you’ve ever experienced? Drag and boylesque artist Blaque Diamond, The Trans God, and founder of Love Thy Belly, LLC, Fairen Kia, joined forces to curate a safe space event for people to express themselves and learn what feels comfortable and free for them. […]

Ashland native launches Queer music label with partner in January

December 29, 2022 Business

A local couple will launch a new record label in January to help promote BIPOC and LGBTQ musicians.

Philip Odango and his partner David Johnson are the founders and co-managers of BlackRainbow Records. A press release says that BlackRainbow will offer clients “music production services, video production, licensing and distribution assistance, marketing, and merchandise sales support while celebrating diversity.”

“Our vision is to elevate, amplify, innovate, and energize our artists to new creative and expressive heights and reach broader audiences,” the press release said.

Hip Hop Sweet Shop WILL remain a staple in Louisville’s West End despite fire

December 22, 2022 Business

Editor’s note: The 18th & Jefferson Street Plaza succumbed to fire before we were able to publish this story. We still believe it is essential to tell Hip Hop Sweet Shop’s story, and we hope you will help us support them in rebuilding. Please keep us all in your thoughts and prayers, as our hearts […]

Part Three: Heine Brothers’ and Sunergos: Louisville’s anti-union coffee shops

December 15, 2022 Business, Thinking Queerly

This is part three in a series of stories that center around Louisville’s local coffee scene: a battleground of ongoing spiritual and class warfare between Christians and queers, workers and business owners. The purpose of the series is not to publicly drag local businesses or individuals, but to trace the connections between those businesses/individuals to […]

Part Two: An exiled Sojourner, SBTS scandals, forced birth, AND MORE coffee

December 7, 2022 Business, Thinking Queerly

Editor’s Note: Regarding boycotts: This article is the second installment in a series that is intended to raise awareness around the systemic injustices that poor, queer, working class Louisvillians (specifically baristas) experience, and the ways certain local religious institutions and powerholders contribute to these injustices. While increased awareness often does, and should, result in action, […]

PART ONE At the crossroads of class struggle and religious bigotry: field notes on Louisville’s coffee scene

November 23, 2022 Business, Thinking Queerly

Editor’s Note: Adrian Silbernagel is a former employee of Heine Brother’s Coffee and is currently one of the co-op members of Old Louisville Coffee Shop. We understand that a bias exists, and we also know that this story is incredibly important and we’ve matched commentary with factual information. You can always send a letter to […]

LGBTQ+ owned, horror-themed bookstore opens in Highlands neighborhood

November 10, 2022 Business

When most Louisvillians think of local book shops to hang around, they tend to patronize the city’s staples — Carmichael’s or the Book & Music Exchange. In terms of niche sub-genres and cult picks, there isn’t a large variety for us queerdos to browse. As Louisville continues growing, we’ve seen an abundance of food, clothes, […]

What President Biden’s Student Debt Plan Relief Didn’t Take Into Account

September 16, 2022 Business

On August 24th, President Biden announced a three-part plan to provide students with loan debt relief. The three-part plan promises debt relief to current loan holders, the creation of a more manageable loan system for current and future borrowers, and future protection by reducing the overall cost of school. The forgiveness plan states the Department […]

Business accelerator program for Black and brown femmes receives $270,000 from JPMorgan Chase

July 29, 2022 Business

Story Louisville has long been a local hub of inspiration, innovation, and possibility. Story’s Wild Beta Accelerator Program is now poised to connect and invest in even more startups led by minority women after receiving a $270,000 investment from JPMorgan Chase. The investment into Wild will focus on empowering Black and Latinx femme-identifying founders to create, […]

Getting Glitzed with the Gays: Biodegradable centered startup launches holographic product line tomorrow at Darling’s Bar

July 6, 2022 Business, Culture

Need more looks to kill for this raging festival season? Well theys, gays, and baes, I sure do have a newly improved, and environmentally sustainable accessory for you. Every year at Forecastle Music Festival, there is one table that shines a little brighter than others. Probably due to the immense amounts of glitter wafting through […]

Blessed be the fruit: Drink enthusiasts create superfood cocktail mixer with health in mind

April 9, 2022 Business

Most of us have days filled with nothing but pure and utter stress. Overwhelmed, beaten down, and totally drained from your day, you can’t help but crave some sweet delicacy to help you meet your zen. Whether that vice be sugar, alcohol, drugs, sex, is up to you. But for those of us that like […]

Lussi Brown Coffee Bar: serving a safe, unapologetic space for Lexington queers

April 6, 2022 Business, Culture

By Alixandria Thomason Lussi Brown Coffee Bar is a queer friendly safe space in the downtown area of Lexington, Kentucky. From the pride flags in the window to the diversity of everyone inside, you feel welcomed the second you walk in the door. The coffee shop and bar opened in June of 2017 following a […]

First generation American finds strength through online bake shop, queerness

March 11, 2022 Business

Growing up in Clarksville, Tenn., Lease Carmona was the youngest of three children, all born to an Afrolatin family. With their mother being Dominican and their father being Puerto Rican, Carmona had to develop a strong sense of self even if it wasn’t who they were meant to be — it was who they had […]

Queer owned coffee cooperative to open in Old Louisville in 2022

March 1, 2022 Business, Kentucky, News

Soon, coffee shop choices won’t burden the morals of our community. In addition to Day’s, the cooperative, Old Louisville Coffee Co-op will open serving as a Queer and BIPOC community hub with delicious coffees, teas and pastries. The co-op will be announcing their target opening date and location soon. One founder of the co-op is […]

HOME Appalachia to kick off with first virtual entrepreneur meetup

January 19, 2022 Business, Rural/Appalachia

The LGBTQ+ business community continues to grow in Eastern Kentucky and HOME Appalachia has made it their mission to foster that growth. The LGBTQ+ centered organization will host its first virtual meetup at 3 p.m. on Sunday, January 30. “This is an opportunity for LGBT entrepreneurs and innovators to come together and get to know […]

LGBTQ+ Community Center and resource center for homeless LGBTQ+ youth to open in 2022

November 11, 2021 Business, Rural/Appalachia

LGBTQ+ Center, Old Louisville Two Louisville nonprofits announced today that they will open new facilities to serve the LGBTQ+ community in the coming months. The Louisville Pride Foundation will open an LGBTQ+ Community Center at 1244 South Third Street in the Old Louisville Neighborhood. Sweet Evening Breeze serves LGBTQ+ youth (Ages 18-24 years old) experiencing […]

LGBTQ+ sports league thrives in Kentucky, growth surges through the South

September 1, 2021 Business

It is no secret that a lot of LGBTQ+ folks aren’t hyped to play sports in “traditional” straight spaces. It’s also no secret that a lot of us have trauma revolving around sports! For example, I talked on our most recent podcast about how my relationship with baseball caused much trauma in my life. How […]

OnlyFans to ban sexually explicit content this fall, impacting Queer livelihoods

August 19, 2021 Business, Health

During the 2020 pandemic fall months, Queer Kentucky reported on how OnlyFans and other forms of sex work were saving the wallets of Queer people all over. Business was booming for some because people were home more…and looking at porn more. Sex work is still criminalized and people in the profession couldn’t receive unemployment. Now, […]

Drag Queen Sydni Hampton to host ‘Reely Queer’ movie night at Play Louisville

August 11, 2021 Business

The Birdcage. An iconic Queer movie from the 90s. Probably one of the first LGBTQ+ related films I watched with my family and how I was introduced to feather boa draped drag queens and gender bending bears and otters. Little did I know the film foreshadowed my own life. Recently, I discussed the iconic Robin […]

Virgie native uplifts Kentucky and Tennessee LGBTQ+ voices through bar, advocacy

July 14, 2021 Business, Rural/Appalachia

Wendy McCown-Williams Even though Wendy McCown-Williams is a politically-appointed member of the Putnam County Election Commission and a business owner, she weighs her business decisions out against how it could be viewed. For McCown-Williams, operating Cookeville’s only gay bar, Club Temptation, means being constantly aware that she owns a gay bar in a town of […]

Artist and activist Josh Miller creates wearable art, installation fashion

July 13, 2021 Business

Queer Kentucky works to uplift the voices of LGBTQ+ Kentuckians, and part of that is shining a light on LGBTQ+ owned businesses and the amazing entrepreneurs behind them. Josh Miller is an artist+athlete creating Wearable Photos through his queer-owned small business Josh Miller Ventures. He is the co-founder and CEO of IDEAS xLab, and a […]

Plant shop Mahonia creates safe shopping experience, works to create diversity and community

June 16, 2021 Business

Walking into Mahonia is like walking into the Architectural Digest version of the house you’ve always dreamed of showing off. It is beautiful and inviting. It is aesthetic yet homey. And, on top of everything, the team has managed to create a space that is inclusive both for customers and staff — a mission Bridget […]

Remembering PULSE: Kentucky philanthropist works to bring healing to Orlando and beyond

June 12, 2021 Business, History, Rural/Appalachia

Five years have passed since a gunman walked into a gay club in Orlando, FL and changed the lives of queer people and allies around the world forever. Pain, mourning and fear has filled the LGBTQ+ community since June 2016, but one Kentucky man is working to bring healing energy into the still raw wound. […]

Event producer Daniel Cole is back in action, continues uplifting Queer entertainment industry

June 7, 2021 Business

feature photo by Tony Lowe It was 2014 in Louisville. That year, the Kentucky General Assembly saw a record number of co-sponsors on both the House and Senate versions of the Statewide Fairness legislation, even though no vote took place. Bourke v. Beshear won recognition of their marriage on February 12 and on February 14, […]

Kickstarter launched for Appalachian LGBTQ+ restaurant, entertainment venue

June 1, 2021 Business, Rural/Appalachia

(PIKEVILLE, KY) – LGBTQ+ Eastern Kentuckians have long lacked spaces designated specifically for them to gather in a safe and friendly environment; however, one individual, backed by a supportive community, is hoping to change that. London native Tasha Sams, and a team of others, are working to bring HOME Appalachia to life. HOME Appalachia is […]

Rolling towards acceptance: A game store’s journey creating community in Eastern Kentucky

May 26, 2021 Business

When Alex Salisbury opened Kaiju Games in 2019, he was reigning Kentucky Bourbon Bears Cub and “Community Dad” just looking to create a space for friends to game. Opening a niche store in a small community is risky enough, but Salisbury seemingly had both the will and the way. And it has paid off. Rather […]