Capt. Mary’s Pub, a queer neighborhood bar with a nautical theme and a sapphic tilt, is open daily from 1 p.m. to 1 a.m. at 940 Elysian Fields Ave. in New Orleans’ Marigny, NOLA.com reported. Owner Zalia BeVille said it leans lesbian in tribute to Charlene Schneider, whose lesbian bar, Charlene’s, filled the same space from 1977 to 1999.
BeVille, who’s behind The AllWays Lounge & Cabaret, a burlesque bar on St. Claude Avenue, told the paper she was approached about the Elysian Fields space “quite a while ago.” Mag’s 940, its most recent tenant, closed in July.
At first, BeVille said, she hesitated to take on something new. The idea clicked during this summer’s World Cup, when a queer friend griped that there was hardly anywhere comfortable to watch the matches. “And my brain just went ‘ding,'” BeVille said.
Capt. Mary’s Bets on Women’s Sports and Cheap Pitchers
The pub’s website bills it as a “Gayborhood Naughty Nautical Sportsball Pub” and promises “Sapphic cozy,” “gay daddies” and “straight friendly.” Inside are two big-screen TVs and a pool table, plus a short, old-school drink list built on affordable standbys such as pitchers of beer, NOLA.com reported.
BeVille hopes it becomes the LGBTQ+ community’s go-to for women’s sports, and for Saints and Pelicans games, too. “We want to create something here that will enhance the neighborhood,” she said. “Nothing to compete with the other queer bars.”
“A rising tide raises all ships,” she added. The seafaring name and decor take their cue from her hometown, St. Augustine, Florida.
Plans for a small room in back include dance parties and live music, plus tarot readings, haircuts and voter registration, according to NOLA.com. Ticketed events back there won’t close off the main bar, which is designed to stay free and open.
The pub’s About page calls it “the sister pub to the Allways Lounge & Cabaret,” which sits a block away at 2240 St. Claude Ave. Burlesque is in the mix, too: Capt. Mary’s was set to host “Tortuga Nights New Orleans Edition,” a pirate burlesque and costume party, on Oct. 29, an Eventbrite listing shows.
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New Orleans Lesbian Spaces Beyond Capt. Mary’s: Wifey’s and Pop-Ups
Bars made specifically for lesbians remain rare in New Orleans and much of the Gulf Coast, NOLA.com reported. In July 2023, Axios New Orleans reported that the city had no brick-and-mortar lesbian bar, while 27 were operating nationwide.
“I want it to be the prettiest, coolest lesbian bar you’ve ever been to, but just once every couple months,” GrrlSpot founder Jenna Jordan said at the time, according to Axios. Of Southern Decadence, Jordan said, “It’s always predominantly been for the boys, but we’re changing that.”
Wifey’s Queer Bar opened last year at 1943 N. Rampart St., two blocks from Capt. Mary’s, aiming to make the whole LGBTQ+ community comfortable, lesbians especially, NOLA.com reported. Recurring pop-ups such as Her Haus, Sapphic Speakeasy and GrrlSpot are the leading hosts of lesbian dance nights and other events, the paper says.
BeVille wants Capt. Mary’s to be a permanent lesbian spot that still feels like a corner bar. “We want it to feel like a place to meet your chosen family,” she said.
Charlene Schneider’s Bar Held 940 Elysian Fields Until 1999
Schneider, a gay-rights activist who died in 2006, opened Charlene’s in December 1977 on the corner of North Rampart Street and Elysian Fields Avenue, according to a 64 Parishes history by Robert W. Fieseler.
“Charlene always said she wanted somewhere where women could be safe,” Linda Tucker, Schneider’s life partner, recalled in the history.
Charlene’s hosted a forum for state Senate candidates in February 1978, the first of many candidate meetups there. “Are you a registered voter?” Schneider would ask patrons, the history says. She also pushed for the anti-discrimination ordinance that the City Council passed in 1991, NOLA.com reported. The measure protected gays and lesbians, according to 64 Parishes.
Melissa Etheridge launched a grassroots tour at the bar in the summer of 1986, and Ellen DeGeneres did comedy there, according to the history. “Ellen was a customer and a young struggling comedienne determined to become famous,” Schneider recalled in an unpublished autobiography, as quoted by 64 Parishes.
When the lease ran out in 1999, well-wishers and officials packed the bar for its Feb. 20 send-off. Schneider died of cancer on Dec. 3, 2006, at 66. The next year, Tucker paid for a plaque at the site, which reads, “Let the work I have done speak for me.”
