D.C. gay bar Cobalt, which closed in Dupont Circle in March 2019, will return for one night on Saturday, Nov. 14, at Crush Dance Bar, 2007 14th St. NW. Crush’s event page sums it up: “A one-night-only celebration bringing back the people, parties, and memories that made Cobalt legendary.”
The reunion is “planned by Crush owner and former Cobalt manager Mark Rutstein,” the page says. Rutstein and his co-owner, Stephen Rutgers, both worked at Cobalt, City Cast DC reported, and almost 20 former employees had RSVP’d, some of them traveling back to D.C. for the night.
“It’s fun to introduce Cobalt to a generation that didn’t get to experience it,” Rutgers told City Cast DC.
Cobalt Reunion Tickets and Cover at Crush on Nov. 14
“Events before 9PM do not require a ticket,” Crush’s page says. DJ Jason Royce opens the day at 2 p.m. with a no-cover flashback set of “the 70s, 80s & 90s,” and DJ Honey spins the Ladies of LURE happy hour from 4 to 8 p.m., also free, Crush posted on Instagram.
“Cover will start at 9PM,” according to Crush, when Cobalt guest bartenders take over. The bar’s Instagram puts it at “$10 Cover after 9PM,” and presale tickets on Eventbrite, $13.26 as of Friday, guarantee entry by 11 p.m.
Nearly all 200 presale tickets were spoken for last week, City Cast DC reported, citing Rutgers.
Cover at the door is “available as space allows,” Crush says, and Eventbrite lists the presale as no refunds. The page adds one more rule: “Event is 21+.”
The Underwear Contest Is Back, Hosted by Lena Lett
Cobalt’s underwear contest returns at 10 p.m., hosted by drag queen Lena Lett just as a free vodka hour begins, according to Crush’s schedule and City Cast DC. “THE COBALT UNDERWEAR CONTEST IS BACK!” the bar posted Friday, naming Sasha Adams as Lett’s co-host and Bite the Fruit as the underwear sponsor.
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DJs Norm Hill, Keenan Orr, Matt Bailer and Drew G take over from 8 p.m. on, the schedule shows. Crush promises “throwback memories, and plenty more surprises throughout the night.”
“It’s a very different world now. You can just go anywhere and be yourself, per se, whereas back in the day, those spaces were very important for people when it was a lot less accepting for [queer] people,” Rutgers told City Cast DC. “It’s good to remind especially the younger generations of those spaces and what they meant to people.”
How D.C. Gay Bar Cobalt Closed After 20 Years
“Cobalt had a good gay Cheers kind of feel for a while,” Cassidy DuHon, who performed drag at Cobalt as LaTavia LaCroix, told The Washington Post when the club closed.
The three-floor club at 1639 R St. NW had survived a fire in 2000, the Post reported, and its building sold in 2018 to Marwick Associates for $4.75 million.
Before the announcement, photos circulated of a sign on the door saying the club was “closed for water damage,” DCist reported. Owner Eric Little then announced the closing on Facebook on March 5, 2019, citing the sale of the buildings, a lease the bar couldn’t extend and “a slow decline in sales.”
“For more than 20 years, our amazing customers and incredible staff have contributed greatly to the DC-area LGBT community,” the statement said, as PoPville published it.
Town Danceboutique, another D.C. gay club, had shut down the July before, The GW Hatchet reported. “The gay bar industry has been changing over the past few years with the popularity of dating apps,” Cobalt’s statement said.
What Replaced Cobalt at 17th and R Streets
Plans filed in 2019 with the Board of Zoning Adjustment called for upwards of 18 residential units on the upper floors of 1637 to 1641 R St. NW, with the ground floor kept for a restaurant, UrbanTurf reported.
A 2023 permit for the ground-level space at the old Cobalt site described “interior build-out for a new retail bakery with an accessory prepared food shop with 37 seats,” PoPville reported.
Three Fifty Bakery & Coffee Bar announced in May 2024 that it was opening in “our newly renovated space located at 1641 R Street NW,” PoPville reported.
Crush and the Six LGBTQ Bars at 14th and U
Rutgers and Rutstein announced Crush in February 2024, with an April opening planned for the old Marvin space at 14th and U, PoPville reported. “We aim to create an atmosphere where everyone can celebrate life and love,” the two said in the announcement.
That corner now has six LGBTQ bars within a little over 300 feet, Washingtonian reported in February, naming Bunker, Crush, Revolt, Rush and Spark Social House. Bunker’s operator also runs the nearby District Eagle, the magazine noted. “There’s enough business to go around for everybody,” Rutgers told the magazine.
