It’s not a gay bar, it’s an equality bar

by Sara Ritsch
Staff Writer

Equality is great, isn’t it? That’s the message that The ER in Joplin, Missouri has been getting across for just over one year, with their newly opened bar’s acronym standing for “Equality Rocks”.

They are more than an LGBT friendly establishment and more than a gay bar. In fact, owner Jeremy Griffitt would like to shed that title entirely. “I’m trying to get the term ‘gay bar’ destroyed,” he says.

“We all preach equality, we’re all Americans, all humans, and that’s about as far as any description of anybody needs to go. I’m trying to get the labels off of us.”

The ER, or “Equality Rocks”, is a hospital-themed bar with an Emergency Room look, Griffitt tells The Gayly, saying he and his silent investor had a lot of fun with the theme. Above the bar itself is a sign that says Pharmacy, because “it’s where you come to get your medicine.” The VIP lounge is instead called the ICU, and the couches in the front area signify a waiting room. It can be described, maybe, as where you go to be healed.

Griffitt himself has been in the bar business since 1999. He went from entertainment and DJing to management, acting as manager at the Pla-Mor Lounge, which was the only ‘gay bar’ in Joplin for six years. When they closed in 2014, Griffitt spent months remodeling the same building and taking it over as The ER. They opened on June 18, 2015.

“Our community needed it,” he says. “We were without a place for nine months. It was solely my focus to give the community a place to go. I call it ‘their bar’ because it’s very much a community place. I just sign the checks...and about three thousand other things.”

Doubling as a community center, The ER has support groups such as JoMoEq (Joplin, Missouri Equality), which meets at the coffee shop next door. JoMoEq is formulated towards gay youth, and it is what Griffitt calls “a great group.” The ER recently ran a huge benefit for the program, raising about $3,000 for a transgender teen who wanted to meet with a doctor to learn more about transitioning.

“They’re really close with us,” he says.

For The ER, safety and comfort are never to be an issue. They even stationed an off-duty police officer on site after the Orlando shooting.

“I want straight people to come, if they behave,” he laughs. “I want everybody in town to be comfortable walking in here. And people have made us feel wonderful saying we’ve met our goal.

“We’re about 40 percent straight people, it’s just that busy. It’s comfortable, there’s no drama. I just want everybody to feel equal that walks in the door. Labeling it a ‘gay bar’ – well, the image we wanted to paint [when opening the bar] was ‘everybody’s welcome.’”

The ER is known for only being open on Fridays and Saturdays for their great drag performances and entertainment. But starting this month, they will also be open on Thursdays for a rotating theme. That’s right, Thursdays will rotate between drag bingo and carnival games.

“We’ll turn the music down, have fun, play games,” he says casually. Their Thursday openings will be a big event for the solely-weekend bar.

The ER’s main drag shows are on Fridays, when they feature six to seven drag queens. On Saturdays there are three or four, and they are usually out-of-towners.

“I’m the only ‘gay bar’ within 90 miles,” Griffitt says. “Once people learned where I was and that I was open, that’s all it took.”

To find out more, check out their Facebook page: The ER “Equality Rocks”.

The Gayly – July 12, 2016 @ 10:55 a.m.