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October is LGBT+ History Month, one of the many annual national events that provide an opportunity for Main Street businesses, gay-owned and otherwise, to celebrate the diversity of their communities. The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, and Ally (LGBTQIA) community is often on the forefront of revitalizing neighborhoods and commercial districts. Pride festivals and other events, as well as national and local media and LGBTQIA organizations, are ideal vehicles for promoting a Main Street as a gay-friendly destination eager for visitors and investment. Keep reading to learn from Main Street communities that welcome LGBTQIA businesses and customers and find out strategies to attract LGBTQIA entrepreneurs and visitors downtown.
With an estimated population of 11 million, LGBTQIA Americans have a combined estimated annual buying power of $900 billion. The worldwide figure is $3.7 trillion. The percentage of LGBTQIA people ranges from 2.7 percent in North Dakota to 9.8 percent in the District of Columbia. The high disposable income of DINK couples (Dual Income, No Kids) allows many LGBTQIA partners to dine out, attend theater, shop, and travel more than average Americans.
Flying Rainbow Flags
Businesses commonly display rainbow flags in front of their establishments to demonstrate that they are either gay-owned or operated or welcome LGBTQIA patrons. Main Streets seeking to diversify their business mix can actively promote their districts as being gay-friendly, in order to attract LGBTQIA entrepreneurs and customers. This can take the form of adding gay pride events to annual promotional event calendars, advertising the Main Street organization in local and regional LGBTQIA media, recruiting LGBTQIA board members and volunteers, and supporting organizations like PFLAG (formerly Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). Gay-friendly businesses (those that welcome and embrace LGBTQIA customers) benefit from word of mouth referrals and social media exposure.
Washington, DC’s annual Capital Pride parade draws as many as 150,000 people. Photo by Pleasant Mann, Courtesy Shaw Main Streets.
Florists and hairdressers used to be stereotypical LGBTQIA-owned and operated businesses—two business types where gay people found acceptance by the community at large. Gay bars, nightclubs and bathhouses, often in less desirable neighborhoods, were among the few places where the LGBTQIA community could safely gather. But today, as gay rights have become more established, LGBTQIA entrepreneurs are more comfortable being out and owning businesses of all types, and non-LGBTQIA businesses actively seek customers that identify as gay.
Change can be Difficult: Barriers to Equality
Anti-LGBTQIA discrimination can be an issue, especially in smaller, more conservative and rural communities. While same sex marriage is now legal throughout the US, many jurisdictions do not offer legal protections to their LGBTQIA residents. As diversity and equity issues are explored and systemic biases are challenged, more businesses and consumers will feel comfortable expressing their gender identity and sexual orientation.
Legal challenges, such as the “gay wedding cake” case that reached the US Supreme Court, have highlighted the resistance on some business owners’ part to serving LGBTQIA customers. While that case upheld the right of a Colorado bakery not to bake a cake for a gay couple’s wedding reception, many business owners are solicitous of such business, seeing it as an opportunity to expand their customer base.
Attracting LGBTQIA People in Cities
Washington, DC’s Shaw neighborhood, voted three consecutive years as being the city’s Best Gayborhood by the local LGBTQIA newspaper, has been home to some of the nation’s capital’s largest gay businesses, including nightclubs and bars. But as acceptance of LGBTQIA people has grown, such businesses have become more inclusive. Nellie’s Sports Bar, which opened in 2007 and was voted the Best New Business that year in an annual poll, initially projected that their customers would be 70 percent LGBTQIA and 30 percent non- LGBTQIA. But the bar’s offerings, including weekly drag bingo events, became so popular with the community at large that it was attracting 60 percent non-LGBTQIA clientele. Nellie’s has since become an annual citywide award-winner in a variety of categories.
LGBTQIA Shaw residents also own businesses, ranging from a large art gallery and event space to one of the city’s favorite Thai restaurants. Non-LGBTQIA-owned businesses of all types actively seek LGBTQIA customers.
But this was not always the case. In the mid-2000s, Shaw Main Streets and the community successfully defeated an effort by neighborhood churches to prevent a gay-owned bar from opening. No further challenges to LGBTQIA businesses opening in the neighborhood have materialized subsequently.
Most major US cities actively promote their LGBTQIA attractions though their convention and visitor bureaus. Some places have branded themselves as LGBTQIA destinations. Key West, FL (pop. 24,600), was the first US city to actively market itself to gay tourists and the first US city to elect a gay mayor. IGLTA, the International LGBTQ+ Travel Association, has over 2,500 North American tourism business members and promotes the social and economic impact of LGBTQIA travel. GayCities.com features over 160 US destinations for LGBTQIA travelers.
LGBTQIA-Friendly Districts in Non-urban Areas
Less urban Main Street communities have also embraced LGBTQIA businesses and consumers. Rehoboth, DE (pop. 1,500), known as the MidAtlantic’s Key West, is a popular beach vacation destination for LGBTQIA residents of the Washington to Philadelphia corridor, with some 200 bars, nightclubs, hotels, restaurants and other businesses welcoming gay guests. Approximately 50,000 people descend on Rehoboth Beach every summer. In the early 1990s, some longtime residents were concerned that LGBTQIA newcomers were threatening the city’s family environment. A ban on non-restaurant bars was imposed following an LGBTQIA bar being denied a liquor license. CAMP (Create a More Positive) Rehoboth, an LGBTQIA non-profit, conducted extensive outreach that helped heal divisions and build a more diverse and inclusive community.
Ferndale, MI (pop. 20,000) is well-known as the most LGBTQIA-friendly neighborhood in the greater Detroit area, home to many LGBTQIA organizations, businesses and residents, who made it the first city in Michigan to elect an openly gay mayor in 2007. Ferndale’s walkable downtown is home to a variety of businesses that are owned by or support the LGBTQIA community, as easily evidenced by the many rainbow flags flying throughout. Ferndale Pride, listed on the After Ellen website as a “Small City Pride That is Worth the Trip,” draws more than 25,000 attendees to Downtown Ferndale.
“Small rural communities also have the potential to attract more diverse audiences,” according to Valecia Crisafulli, former staff member at the National Main Street Center and now board president of Madison Main Street in Madison, IN (pop. 12,000). Madison has seen an increase in its gay population over the past few years, with many single professionals and couples buying homes, opening businesses, and socializing in the National Historic Landmark District.
Crisafulli credits a recent arrival from California for starting Madison’s Rainbow River Club, a new social group that gathers monthly in different downtown locations. “Larry was very inclusive in his outreach to gay and straight people in the area, as well as all age groups,” Crisafulli noted. “And in return, Main Street businesses have lined up to host the River Club events. Businesses see the potential for new customers. The partnership is a natural one, and it’s working.”
Madison businesses, many of which are focused on the arts and vintage audience, are a draw for LGBTQIA customers, and several new gay-owned businesses have opened in recent years, including retailers offering home decor, high-end furniture and antiques, and women’s apparel.
“The community needs to signal that it is a welcoming district,” Crisafulli said. “Many of our businesses proudly display ‘We Are an Inclusive Community’ and ‘Everyone Is Welcome Here’ signs. Our businesses owners actively support Rainbow River Club and PFLAG events, and that is a powerful signal for residents, as well as visitors to the community.”
Complete this assessment here to determine if your business district is LGBTQIA-friendly.
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Business Spotlight: Women-Owned Businesses on Main Street (Part 3)
Meet some amazing women business owners!
Local Impact: Small Business Saturday
Small Business Saturday® is more than a day to shop. It’s a nationwide movement that shines a spotlight on the importance of supporting small businesses in communities across America.
Community Spotlight: Benson, North Carolina
The Town of Benson started a special project to highlight their downtown businesses.
Community Spotlight: Berkley, Michigan
The Berkley Downtown Development Authority (DDA) proudly debuted its Downtown Berkley Shopping Bag for a Cause through a partnership between Better Life Bags.
Main Spotlight: Learnings from the ESHIP Summit
Supporting new and existing small businesses, and the entrepreneurs who run them, represents a vital aspect of the revitalization of downtowns and neighborhood business districts.
Creating Equitable, Inclusive and Transparent Cities: A Year in Review
The Equitable Economic Development Fellowship is a two-year, one million-dollar effort funded by the Surdna Foundation and the Open Society Foundations to help equity, transparency, sustainability and community engagement become driving forces in local economic development efforts.
Community Spotlight: Mini-Grants Offered to Small Businesses in Jefferson, Iowa
The Jefferson Rotary Club partnered with Jefferson Matters: Main Street to offer mini-grants for building facades and storefront signage to two dozen businesses for up to $500 each.
A Memorable Makeover on Main Street
The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) partnered with Retailworks, Inc., a commercial interior design, display and branding firm headquartered in Milwaukee, to launch Wisconsin’s Main Street Makeover Contest.
Creative Discovery on the Maker Trail in Enid, Oklahoma
Kelly Tompkins of Main Street Enid shares more about the Maker Trail project and how it inspired creativity and helped people discover downtown.
City Sidewalks, Dressed in Holiday Style
Too often, as we’re strolling our favorite Main Street, we pass empty or dark shop windows that make us want to hurry home a little bit faster. Imagine instead, a charming streetscape adorned with vibrant, lively window displays, showcasing retailers’ favorite products and seasonal gift ideas.
Community Spotlight: #ShopSmall in Goldsboro, North Carolina
Small Business Saturday promo pic from Downtown Goldsboro, North Carolina, showing all the folks who took the pledge support a small business in their community.
Using Local Search Trends to Attract More Customers to Your Main Street
We’ve put together a practical list of some of the things that local store owners can do right now to help them capitalize on this increasing trend in local searches.
Network Spotlight: Main Street Iowa Restaurant Week
From authentic comfort food to farm-to-fork fresh and everything in between, these restaurants, bars, and cafes are key to the thriving social, business, and residential life in the historic commercial districts in Main Street Iowa communities.
Fab Lab Sparks Rural Opportunities
Located in southeast Kansas, Independence (pop.8,799) is home to Fab Lab ICC, which is on track to be the world’s leading innovator in combining entrepreneurial mindset education with a fab lab maker space.
Community Spotlight: Morganton, North Carolina
The craft beer industry is playing a key role in the rebirth of Main Streets and neighborhood commercial districts across the county.
Rethink Storefront Accessibility to Rethink Community Viability
Appealing to mobility-challenged shoppers yields benefits beyond the store.
Sparking a Movement in Small Business and Small Towns
Being the only person in the know can be fun, exhilarating even. Except when you are the one person out of 600+ in a room and you know bad news is coming.
The Lowdown in Downtown LaBelle
Fritz the dog has made his way into the hearts of the residents of LaBelle, Florida, and helped our Main Street Community find a way to make what we do more noticeable.
Pop-Up Altavista 2.0
Altavista On Track, the local Main Street organization, is working to cultivate and sustain local entrepreneurs with an educational business launch competition, Pop-Up Altavista 2.0.
The Bright Center: A Space for Winchester’s Bright Minds to Create, Innovate and Thrive
In Winchester, Virginia, one woman’s vision and commitment to downtown’s revitalization created an innovative community space for the Creative Class.
Why Business Retention and Expansion Plans are Important for Downtowns
A business retention and expansion plan, properly implemented, not only helps keep businesses open but possibly even helps them expand.
Business Investment Guides: “Think B.I.G.”
The first rule of conducting business is “make it simple.” The easier it is to pay for merchandise, get entertainment or obtain a service, the more likely it is that people will take advantage of those options.
Small Box – A Creative Retail Project
Main Street communities across the country are no stranger to seeking creative strategies to solve their most nagging issues – vacant buildings, marketing downtown, bolstering retail to name a few.
Supporting Immigrant Entrepreneurs in the Heart of Boston’s Main Streets
To understand the role that immigrant business owners play in Boston’s small business ecosystem, you need only to walk through any Boston Main Streets district.
Measuring the Economic Impact of Storefront Improvements
Façade appearance is a critical aspect of the overall aesthetic appeal and unique character of downtown.
Sign Design Guidelines
A lot of signs are necessary to make a downtown work well, but not every community knows what a good sign system looks like, or how instrumental it can be to the creation of a successful downtown.
Improving Performance in Main Street Iowa Communities
Main Street Iowa, a program of the Iowa Economic Development Authority’s Iowa Downtown Resource Center, created a one-of-a-kind three-year program to provide help for performance venues located in Main Street districts.
