Gay bar? Soccer bar? Owner of St. Paul's Black Hart says 'Yes'

The idea seemed so crazy that it just might work.

Combine the loyal customer base of St. Paul's oldest gay bar with the buzz coming from a shiny new soccer stadium nearby — filled with thirsty fans — and the Black Hart of Saint Paul seemed perfectly positioned to bask in the glow of "the Beautiful Game." After opening at the former Town House to steadily growing crowds, what could go wrong?

Answer: COVID-19.

Two years of quarantines, no crowds, restricted crowds, games cancelled, games postponed and outbreaks have left owner Wes Burdine looking for what he hopes will be the Black Hart's first uninterrupted year.

Last week, with the pandemic seemingly easing and Minnesota United getting ready to host its first home game of 2022, Eye On St. Paul dropped in on Burdine to catch up.

This interview was edited for length.

Q: You opened to great anticipation. Then COVID hit. What did it do to you?

We have had three shutdowns. The first one was obvious [March to June 2020] — everyone was shut down. And then the second one was later that year, November to early January. And this year we did one on our own over New Year's for seven days, right as omicron hit. We have had no [staff] infections for just about all of COVID. And then just about half the staff got it.

Q: How did you survive?

A: The three primary points we hit are: We're a neighborhood bar — there aren't many places in the Midway where you can go grab a drink with a friend on a Tuesday afternoon. We are the oldest gay bar in St. Paul. And then we've got soccer, which is a little bit of both those groups already.

When it's buzzing, it's great. But when it's scaled down like [2020], we're just trying to make sure [employees are] in OK shape. We relied on the regular patrons, 15 people, to come in every day. Those 15 people kept the lights on.

Q: Did you get government help?

Q: Do you feel a little snakebit — or fortunate?

A: I feel completely fortunate. I don't have some secret trove of wealth to maintain this place. So, when we shut down in March of 2020, we could have folded and sold to a developer within a month and a half. We just didn't have any business savings.

All the various ways that we found support, including people buying gift cards and shirts, kept us alive.

Q: Can you imagine a full, steady year?

A: Yeah. I can imagine. I can imagine giving a paycheck to myself. [laughs]

Q: How did you get the idea to bring soccer and a gay bar together?

A: To be honest, when I knew the stadium was coming in, I knew there would be a need for a soccer bar. But I had avoided looking at this place because I thought "Well, if I put a sports bar in a gay bar spot, I'd be tarred and feathered by my own friends." But it really came down to talking to [the retiring owner of the Town House] and the more I thought about it, the more I imagined a space that where it was possible.

My worst fear was that people would be here for one reason and then have this group overrun them. I still get kind of anxious when there are semi-overlaps. But, for the most part, it's been pretty seamless.

This is not a place that flips a switch, that transforms from being a gay bar into a soccer bar and then back again. It was really important to us to forward that this is a queer soccer bar.

One of the first times I came in here [before buying] was a Thursday, 4 p.m., there weren't many people in the bar. But along the bar were three trans women. And I thought, "OK, how can I create a space and make sure that someone who's trans feels safe?"

Q: Any regrets?

A: No. Being a part of this has been an extremely life-affirming process.