The resounding hope for the future of The Pearl was short-lived.
As of Tuesday, the lesbian bar and community space has filed articles of dissolution with the state, marking the end of the business.
“The Pearl is officially closed,” said co-owner and founder Dom Garcia. “We will not operate another day.”
The announcement marks the abrupt and messy end to the bar, which was a rare dedicated space for queer women. It also was the successor to The Mercury Cafe, a revered Denver restaurant, bar and venue.
People paying attention may be experiencing whiplash. On Saturday, The Pearl announced on Instagram that it would close at the end of April. But shortly afterward, Garcia started a GoFundMe in an attempt to keep the business afloat until Pride celebrations in June.
Support flooded in from around the city — and beyond — and the fundraiser quickly hit its $80,000 goal.
But on Tuesday, Garcia reversed course and said The Pearl would close its doors effective immediately. However, other co-owners have pushed back against that, saying they would keep it open longer. Meanwhile, staffers revolted, saying the business was poorly run and the fundraiser was hastily created.
Things got messy.
Garcia, who uses they/them pronouns, did not initially want to close The Pearl.
According to Garcia, they took a step away from day-to-day management of the sapphic-focused bar last summer to focus on mental health issues that stemmed from their military service. In their absence, Garcia said original co-founder Ashlee Cassity, as well as new owners Jonathan Mora and Christy Rivera, stepped up.
Garcia said they were blindsided by the closure announcement on Saturday.
“I didn't approve this,” Garcia said. “I own 37.5% of the business. I am the main shareholder. I'm the founder of the business.”
Garcia said they did not consult staff or the other co-owners before making the GoFundMe, which was a controversial decision among staff.
In the three days since the GoFundMe was posted, The Pearl has been embroiled in various controversies. Co-owner Cassity was accused of being involved with an anti-LGBTQ church in Longmont. She denounced the church’s views and said she is no longer a member and didn’t know about its stance when she initially joined.
Then, The Pearl’s own staff began coming after the business. On Tuesday morning, a letter was posted on Instagram by four shift leads. In the letter, they said the staff would refuse to take money from the GoFundMe, and urged people to report the fundraiser as fraudulent.
“It is not fair to our staff nor is it fair to anyone who donated the money, and it is especially not fair to anyone in the community in need of mutual aid,” the letter said. (Garcia confirmed the letter writers worked at The Pearl.)
The letter blamed a lack of “trust between specific people on the ownership team” and “lack of accountability as well as the mismanagement of finances” for conditions at The Pearl, but did not call out specific people.
The shift leads told Denverite they weren’t ready to comment further.
The other owners' next steps aren't all clear
Shortly after the letter was posted, Garcia said The Pearl would close effective immediately and refunds should be sent back to donors shortly. They said The Pearl’s culture had changed since they took a leave of absence.
“It's not what I had envisioned when I opened the space. I have had multiple people tell me that my own staff has mistreated members of our community, trans men saying that they're not queer enough, they're not lesbian enough, they're not part of the community, that they aren't welcome in the space,” Garcia said. “I'll take the blame myself. I think me stepping back truly was the fall of the Pearl when I was there.”
Mora and Cassity did not respond to Denverite’s calls or text messages. Rivera declined to comment as “everyone is trying to navigate next steps.”
Garcia said that there’s no way for the business to reopen legally.
In many ways, the messiness of The Pearl’s final moments mirrors its fabled predecessor, The Mercury Cafe. In its final months, a complicated labor dispute tore its staff apart.
