Jason Matheson, host of Fox 9's "The Jason Show" and MyTalk 107.1's morning show, is part of a new ownership group that's reopening and reimagining Lush Lounge and Theater in northeast Minneapolis.
"I've always had it in the back of my mind that one day I'd like to own a bar," said Matheson, who has teamed up with his Betty & Earl's co-owner Jen Lueck and local performers Andrew Rausch and Jared Lawrence. Their partnership came as a result of a confluence of timing.
Matheson and Lueck were looking for expanded commercial kitchen space for their Betty & Earl's Biscuit Kitchen wholesale business outside of its original location at Rosedale Center's Potluck food hall. At the same time, Rausch and Lawrence were hoping to revive the popular performance space at Lush, which closed in summer 2020 after the ownership group dissolved.
On a recent trip to Dallas to celebrate Matheson's birthday, Lueck brought him to her favorite gay bar in the city, and the wheels started turning. "There were people of all different colors, body shapes and ages on the dance floor together," said Lueck. "And I was like, why? Why can't we have this in the Twin Cities?"
Matheson, who has long been an advocate for those who have experienced bullying, also bemoaned the lack of an all-inclusive space that could host live performances, and wanted to create a safe zone for those who feel "othered."
"I remember how Boom made me feel," Matheson said, referring to the gay bar of the early 2000s, the state's first to sport actual windows. "I want people to feel that way at Lush. There is a missing element in the Cities and we want to be that space."
Rausch was already experienced in operations at Lush. He worked at the bar and had performed as Crystal Belle. "When Lush initially closed, there were a lot of hurt feelings," he said. But there were good memories, too.
"I met my husband there," he said. And it's Rausch's words that have been emblazoned in neon on the bar's newly decorated walls: "Be kind and have a good time."
