What You’ll Find in Queer Columbus

by Paul Heney
Last updated: 7:00 AM ET, Fri August 9, 2024

Columbus is, to many people, a sort of prototypical America, a place where major corporate chains try out new products to see if they’ll resonate. The city is one of the country’s fast-growing spots, and poised to boom even more, with a huge new Intel manufacturing plant nearby expected to come online around 2027. Plus, with local university Ohio State in town, there’s a never-ending supply of fresh new talent coming to the city.

Ohio’s capitol is also a regional hotspot for the LGBTQ community, attracting queer residents and tourists from the vast surrounding conservative areas. As a result, the city’s annual Pride celebration (held each June by Stonewall Columbus) has blossomed into one of the largest in the Midwest, attracting hundreds of thousands of participants. But you don’t have to focus on Pride month for visiting, as the city has plenty for the queer community year-round.

Drink and Eat

Columbus has a nice variety of eateries, but you’d be remiss if you skipped a stop at Parable Coffee for breakfast. This Black and queer-owner spot has delicious pastries that tend to disappear quickly, so come by early. We also enjoyed a delicious dinner at the trendy Speck Italian Eatery on High Street. Speck opened in 2023, and was formerly in nearby Delaware, Ohio. The restaurant features plenty of homemade pasta, and the focaccia is also a specialty here.

If variety is your jam, try out the city’s North Market, a dynamic public market that’s nearly 150 years old. (And if you come for Pride, the market is a perfect lunch spot between taking in the parade and visiting the festival area.) Here, you’ll find about 30 vendors, selling everything from candles to meat to flowers, as well as more than a dozen restaurant spots. Barrel & Boar, with a nice selection of BBQ meats, was our favorite.

Another special new place for a bite or a drink is the lovely Hilton rooftop space called Stories on High. The Asian-inspired small plates here are incredible (you won’t want to share) and the 28^th floor location provides sweeping views of the city. Plus, there’s plenty of libations to choose from, as well as a selection of sakes.

The city has a handful of queer bars, such as Slammers (a lesbian bar with amazing pizza), District West (Home of RuPaul’s star Nina West), and Union Café.

Stay Queer

While Columbus has plenty of hotel chains of every stripe, a fun alternative recently opened, a few miles west of downtown in the historic Woodland Park neighborhood. The Pride Inn Bed & Breakfast Columbus is run by Jimmie Beall and her wife Mindy. The charming and lovingly restored house features a huge front porch, where we lounged on the swing in the warm afternoon sunlight.

Pride Inn Bed & Breakfast Columbus is run by Jimmie Beall and her wife Mindy

In addition to the amenities that you’d expect in a bed and breakfast, Pride Inn includes fantastic LGBTQ art throughout (including a wall that’s reserved for local queer artists) and an incredible lower level with a movie room, game room, and snacks galore. Little touches are everywhere—we smiled at the collection of queer movie posters on the wall, like The Birdcage, Boys Don’t Cry, Brokeback Mountain, and Paris is Burning.

Jimmie was famously fired from a public school district for being queer, and that experience moved the couple to create the welcoming bed & breakfast, open to serving and celebrating all. They have completed three of the guest bedrooms and are finalizing a fourth. Part of the charm about bed & breakfasts is the comradery you build during the communal breakfast (or weekend brunch). We could have sat and talked for hours with our hosts, with whom we felt an immediate connection. That spirit made our stay feel more like staying with friends, a far cry from checking into a chain hotel.

Art, Museums, and More

Columbus has an interesting variety of museums to choose from, including the famous Center of Science and Industry (COSI) and the National Veterans Memorial and Museum, both of which feature eye-catching architecture. The Columbus Museum of Art (free on Sundays) has a permanent gallery with queer art, as well as a fantastic temporary exhibit by artist Robin F. Williams entitled, We’ve Been Expecting You. Williams’ work often comments on or turns gendered stereotypes around. Additionally, the Marie Laurencin Sapphic Paris exhibit explores many women-centered and lesbian themes from the perspective of the early 1900s.

Franklinton Fridays is held the second Friday of every month in the super-cool Franklinton Arts District, a once crumbling neighborhood of industrial buildings that has been reclaimed by artisans, passionate locals, and a bevy of microbreweries. These free events include plenty of local artists (such as those in the 100-year-old warehouse now known as 440 W. Rich), music, performances, and a variety of local vendors. We were impressed by how multicultural the whole event was.

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