A beloved gay bar in Washington, D.C., known for its eclectic atmosphere and celebrity sightings, is expanding to Philadelphia. The owners of the Little Gay Pub, which has quickly become a hotspot for locals and tourists, are bringing their unique hospitality brand to the City of Brotherly Love.
The new location will be at the corner of 13th and Drury Lane, near the historic McGillin’s Olde Ale House.
LGP founders Dito Sevilla, Dusty Martinez, and Benjamin Gander, longtime D.C. bartenders, aim to open the Philadelphia branch as soon as late December, but no later than next spring, in time for Pride Month, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
The trio’s mission is to create a pub where the LGBTQ+ community “is celebrated, more than just served.” Sevilla told the Inquirer that LGP’s decor and service “harken back to an older age in the community, when the bars were nicer, a little bit more leathery and darker, and the fixtures were better.” Both the D.C. and Philly locations are designed to capitalize on natural light, fostering a welcoming daytime drinking environment in addition to the late-night scene.
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One of LGP’s standout features is its ornate restrooms with perfect lighting, which have become a social media sensation. The Instagram account Royal_Fiush_LGP is dedicated to capturing selfies taken in the pub’s bathrooms. Sevilla humorously explained, “We wanted to have over-the-top bathrooms, and there was really no specific reason…we made them crazy and kitschy— and so clean and nice.”
Sevilla told The Advocate that the team is excited about the expansion. “We love Philly! We are so excited to have the opportunity to bring our unique brand of not-so-Little Gay Pub, offering a quirky, campy, glamorously gay hospitality experience to an incredibly historic and LGBTQ-friendly city like Philadelphia.”
Sevilla emphasized the team’s dedication to detail, sharing that they always want to create a space full of personality and charm. “When we built the place, we had hoped it was going to be a gathering space for everybody, but people really have come to appreciate all the love we put into it,” he previously told The Advocate. “We wanted to put details and little hidden Easter eggs all across the bar because we all had our distinct personalities, and we wanted to have a place where we all felt represented.”
The Philly location will include a mural of the late city planner Ed Bacon, overseen by a rooftop deck, highlighting the local flavor and history. According to the Inquirer, the pub’s founders are committed to becoming part of the community, sharing an apartment to ensure that at least one of them is always in town.
The paper reports that the three plan to keep their doors open to engage with the neighborhood during construction.
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“We plan to keep our doors open so the neighborhood can stop by, pop in, and ask us questions,” Martinez said. “We’re just a very friendly bunch of people that have brought greatness to D.C., and we hope to do so in Philadelphia.”
The original LGP has hosted numerous celebrities, including Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, the California Democrat, who visited last fall and took selfies in one of the pub’s famed restrooms. Other notable guests have included actors Billy Eichner and Alan Cumming. Recently, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and the season 9 cast of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Starsdropped by the pub.
Additionally, LGP has formed a notable partnership with the British Embassy, culminating in the creation of the “GREAT Love is for Everyone” mural by artist Lisa Marie Thalhammer.
Sevilla shared that the partners have long enjoyed Philadelphia’s LGBTQ+ spots and are eager to join and expand the community’s offerings. “For years, we have each enjoyed many of the LGBT spots Philly has had to offer—some of them for decades—and can’t wait to join them in expanding the offerings for our people and their allies to enjoy.”
Benjamin Gander echoed this enthusiasm: “We’re beyond excited to get up there.”
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Philadelphia’s LGP aims to continue this legacy of community engagement, inclusivity, and celebration. Sevilla emphasized the pub’s ethos: “The Little Gay Pub is a small space with a big heart and an old soul. We can’t wait to share it with the City of Brotherly Love, Freedom, and the cradle of Liberty.”
Associated Students of GCU President Judah Floyd (left) and Vice President Gracie Zimbardi (right) participated in a workshop with Arizona Congressman Eli Crane at the Campus Victory Forum conference in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., has been a popular spot this summer, especially since it’s the nation’s 250th anniversary. And it’s where many Grand Canyon University students have traveled, including the campus’s student body leaders.
Associated Students of GCU President Judah Floyd and Vice President Gracie Zimbardi traveled to Washington, D.C., to participate in the Campus Victory Forum conference and celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary of signing the Declaration of Independence.
“It was a humbling opportunity to be able to represent GCU and be poured into by so many admirable Christian leaders,” Floyd said. “It reminds me of the leader I want to be as a Christ follower and as someone who’s been put in a position to have influence on the students of GCU.”
Outside of conference sessions, Judah Floyd and Gracie Zimbardi explored Washington, D.C.
The three-day conference was organized by Campus Victory, an organization empowering collegiate leaders to step into civic engagement. It featured workshops, sessions and activities that equipped students with practical tools to step into their leadership roles.
Roughly 250 student leaders from universities all around the country traveled to the nation’s capital for the conference, where they met and heard from politicians and community leaders, including U.S. Rep. Eli Crane of Arizona.
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He addressed the young crowd with a personal testimony about his experience in public leadership and gave an empowering message from 1 Timothy 4:12, which reads, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.”
He encouraged students to boldly press on in their positions despite their young age.
Sharing a home state with Crane was made extra special to Floyd and Zimbardi when Crane invited all Arizona students backstage to meet and have conversations with him.
“He was phenomenal,” Zimbardi said. “He talked about how being firm in our faith is so important in this time, and though we are young leaders, we do have the knowledge, experience and people to look up to, so use it. It was so inspiring to hear from him.”
Gracie Zimbardi (left) displayed her patriotism with student leaders from other universities.
When sessions concluded, students explored significant landmarks, including memorials, museums, and federal and local government buildings.
Everything was decked out in red, white and blue, with flags and banners hanging everywhere to commemorate the milestone anniversary.
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Celebratory events unfolded one after another on Independence Day, finishing with the largest fireworks show in history. Some 850,000 pyrotechnic effects were detonated over 40 minutes, with thousands gathered for the once-in-a-lifetime event.
Floyd waited five hours in line to attend Salute to America 250, which concluded yearlong celebratory festivities. The six-hour event on the National Mall featured presidential remarks, musical performances and military flyovers.
While in Washington, D.C., Judah Floyd (center) met with other student leaders.
“President Donald Trump talked about how America is really a land of people of faith and people who overcome challenges time after time,” Floyd said. “It really rekindled in us the spirit of liberty that we all carry as Americans and the importance of defending that liberty for generations to come.”
Military veterans were brought onstage and honored for their commitment to serving the country. Flags from every generation of America were displayed, and singer Lee Greenwood led the crowd in singing “God Bless the U.S.A.”
The World Cup was happening at the same time. While Floyd and Zimbardi were in Washington, D.C., they witnessed another level of patriotism when a Team USA vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina watch party, complete with a projector screen, was organized in front of the U.S. Congress.
“Thousands of people all wearing U.S.A. jerseys were shouting and screaming and spraying water in the sky when we scored a goal. It was deafening,” Floyd said.
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Judah Floyd and Gracie Zimbardi celebrated the Fourth of July in Washington, D.C., with student leaders from around the country.
As the start of academic year approaches, Floyd and Zimbardi’s tenure as student body president and vice president will soon commence.
The duo said that participating in the Campus Victory Forum conference, networking with student body presidents and vice presidents from other universities, and witnessing everyone’s patriotism prepared them to lead with passion and boldness.
“It means a lot to me that someone in this organization thought of us, GCU, and said, ‘We need them there.’ Zimbardi said. “It was really unique hearing from other students about how they do things at other universities.
“We got to sit down and spitball back and forth. We talked about things like, ‘Wow, that’s what works for you? We are struggling in that area, do you mind if we try it?’ Having conversations like that is extremely helpful, and it is cool how unified we can all become.”
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Dozens of Iowa National Guard soldiers leaving Iowa today will spend the next six months serving in Washington, D.C..
Last August, President Trump issued an executive order declaring there was an epidemic of crime in the nation’s capitol and he immediately mobilized National Guard troops from the District of Columbia. The Pentagon then started asking state guard units to deploy to D.C. and made a request of Governor Kim Reynolds last year. “They asked earlier and I said no because we had one of the largest deployments that we’ve had for a long, long time and I just felt we were stretched pretty thin,” Reynolds said.
In May of last year, nearly 2000 Iowa National Guard soldiers were deployed to the Middle East. The final group of those soldiers returned to Iowa last month. Reynolds said the Pentagon “circled back” recently and asked her to send a group of Iowa Guard soldiers to D.C. and she’s deployed 120 Iowa Guard soldiers to D.C. “to ensure the safety and security” of people who are in the nation’s capitol, “especially with everything that’s going on with the 250th birthday of our country,” Reynolds said, “and so we were able to participate and do our share.”
Reynolds told reporters the federal government will pay the entire cost of the deployment. Reynolds will speak this morning at a private send off ceremony for the Iowa Guard soldiers before they leave for D.C. There were over 5000 National Guard troops in Washington this past Sunday, including 185 from Nebraska and over 100 from Minnesota.
