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There are few things the internet enjoys more than turning a local dispute into a national referendum on morality, and Last Ditch, a queer bar in Greenfield, Massachusetts, has had the misfortune of becoming its latest favorite punching bag. Now, after months of controversy over COVID masking, the bar is preparing to close this winter unless someone steps in to save it.
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According to The New York Times, Last Ditch announced on October 26 that it is “soft closing” immediately, with only previously booked events continuing. The bar is also urgently seeking new owners or co-owners, or someone willing to buy the business outright. Its furniture, equipment, inventory and other assets are estimated to be worth around $70,000.
“We have put our lives on hold to foster networks of care, resources, and a home base for organizing,” the bar wrote in its announcement. “It’s time we pass it on.”
The venue opened in 2025 with an ambitious mission: to create a gathering place for queer people, particularly those left out of traditional nightlife spaces. That included immunocompromised patrons, whom the bar accommodated by requiring customers to wear KN95 masks or better. It also welcomed people who couldn't afford to spend much, operating on the radical idea that a lack of disposable income shouldn't disqualify anyone from community.
Unfortunately, community doesn't pay the electric bill.
Business struggled long before Last Ditch became a national news story. In late August, the owners announced that Saturday nights would become mask-optional in an effort to attract more customers. The policy remained in place on other nights, but that distinction apparently wasn't enough to prevent an explosion of outrage.
A September community meeting to address the dispute reportedly became volatile. Jackie Matellian, the remaining original owner running day-to-day operations, described the financial and personal toll of keeping the bar afloat, including a $50,000 business loan and living in her vehicle while working multiple jobs.
Critics accused the bar of abandoning the very people it had been created to serve, with some commenters delivering the sort of apocalyptic denunciations usually saved until one's mustache is at twirling length. The ensuing media circus attracted attention from across the country, turning a small business's financial struggle into a battleground over disability and public health.
Now, Last Ditch is calling it quits. Existing bookings will be honored, but the bar is otherwise closed.
For Massachusetts, which has lost several queer gathering spaces in recent years, another bar disappearing is a genuine loss. If someone wants to rescue Last Ditch, the window is open. Otherwise, Greenfield just lost a bar that went nationally famous but couldn't get enough people to actually show up and pay to to stay open