Night Life (a.k.a. The Bar Scene)*

 

Mable Peabody's (formerly Bedo's): Denton's original gay bar. Since Dallas and Ft. Worth are so close by, many gays and lesbians choose to head south for the bar scene. However, if you want to keep it at home in a friendly neighborhood bar then head on over to Mable's. Mable's is about half and half on the male to female ratio. (Has this changed since the new bar has opened?) They have pool tables and a small dance floor. You'll hear a fairly wide variety of music from either the jukebox or a dj on busier nights. Wednesdays have traditionally been the night to go for the younger college crowd but you can usually find a fairly large group hanging out on Fridays and Saturdays too. Normally there is no cover but on Wednesdays they sometimes charge a buck or two. Occasionally they have shows or benefits with drag and/or strippers during which they'll have a minimal cover charge. Mable's has began letting local college bands play on some "off" days, like Sundays, which is mighty nice. We don't know what the cover charge is, if there is one, when they have bands.

To get there go east on University (Hwy 380) past TWU if you're coming from "inside the city." About a quarter of the mile down the road from TWU you'll see a Chevron gas station on the north side of the street. Behind the Chevron is a small shopping plaza. Mable's is on the far right. They're opened Tuesday thru Sunday until 2 a.m., although Kelly, who runs the bar, has been known to close early if business is dead. Normally they don't open until the evening, like 8 pm, but on Sundays I think they open earlier now. You'll have to check with them to find out for sure. You can reach them at 940-566-9910.
(Tip: Their pitchers of draft beer are really cheap!!!!)

 

Geronimo's : Well, it's finally open. Denton has a second gay bar now called Geronimo's and it's on Elm. Haven't been yet but we've heard it's more of a boy's bar. Also heard that it's very nice and some money was spent to fix it up right. No dance floor though. They've got a web site that we're linking to but it looks like they're still working on it at the time of this update because none of their pages are working yet beyond the homepage. If anybody has any further insight into Geronimo's let us know so we can update this info.

To get there from University Drive (Hwy 380) turn onto Elm, which is a one-way street at that point, heading South towards the Square. (Between Walgreens and Shell.) There's a little strip mall behind the gas station on your right. It's got a small Mexican restaurant at one end and the new bar is at the other. Here's the address and phone number as listed with the phone company: 1803 North Elm St, Denton, TX 76201   940-566-5969

 

FYI-Other Denton Bar Info: You'll find several college bars right across the street from UNT on Hickory & Fry St. You'll also find several other bar & grill type establishments on and around the downtown square. Though none of these bars are "gay," I've personally never seen anyone hassled due to their sexuality. One of the advantages of going out in Denton is that the drinks are generally a LOT CHEAPER than they are in Dallas or Ft. Worth and if you're a student you can probably walk to the bars and then back home without having to drive. Denton is a "moist" town, meaning that you can only buy beer and wine over the counter. For hard liquor purchases you'll have to drive south on I35 to Lake Dallas or go east down University Drive (Hwy 380). Most of the bars and restaurants in Denton do sell liquor though. However, they'll require a "membership" to drink. Don't worry. They're almost always free so it's no big deal. (The majority of the time nobody will even ask you for a membership card.) Establishments can sell alcoholic beverages until 2 a.m. in Denton, which is the same as Dallas & Ft. Worth.
(Tip: By the way, all the local liquor stores seem to give a 10% student discount!)

 

Dallas/Ft. Worth Gay Bars: You can find specific information, such as addresses, about the various gay bars in Dallas and Ft. Worth thru the Texas Gay & Lesbian Guide. Click on the appropriate city and then click on "Night Life". However, we just wanted to give you some pointers if you're new to the metroplex. Dallas, by far, has the most, and what many would consider the best, gay bars in the area. In fact, Dallas has its own gay neighborhood that everyone refers to as Oaklawn. (Go to the intersection of Oaklawn & Cedar Springs and voila! You're there.) Don't knock Ft. Worth though. Almost anyone will tell you that though Ft. Worth isn't as "hip" as Dallas and doesn't have nearly as many bars you'll get far less attitude overall. Plus Ft. Worth is generally a little safer than Dallas as far as hate crimes and muggings go.

By the way, does anyone know the deal with the relatively new bar Best Friends in Ft. Worth? If so write to us via e-mail. The 651 Club used to be the the main place where lesbians congregated in Ft. Worth but it seems that Best Friends took almost ~all~ the female business away from The 651. (It used to be about 50/50 regarding male/female clientele.) What's the deal with Best Friends? What's the ratio of women to men? What kind of music do they play? Any other need-to-know info? If anybody has the scoop drop us a line at gaydenton@yahoo.com  Thanks!

ANSWER! - We got a resonse and this is what it says. Thanks to Adv2k4 for writing in!

The scoop is : this place is the bomb.

90% women . Dj plays a great mix of country,techno,hip hop,even some Selena.

The clientele varies in age so all are welcome. The place is really nice. Saturday's are really crowded and even has an outside patio.

Come check it out!!!!!!

Here's a list of what's what in the Dallas/Ft. Worth bar scene at a glance:

 

Gay Bars Across America & The World: Find queer bars far and wide at GayBars.com. Just click "USA" or "International" near the bottom of the page to start searching.

 

Adult Entertainment: We had a request to add some information about where to rent pornos. New to the area? Find out.

 

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*NOTE: None of the businesses listed on this site have paid for advertising or formally requested mention on this site. We are simply listing them as a service to the gay/lesbian/bisexual community of Denton for people who want to be around other gay people or support businesses that in turn support us.

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