It could be last call for Texas' oldest gay bar. Its patrons are fighting to save it. - LGBTQ Nation

"Robert's Lafitte, the legendary Galveston dive bar which is also the oldest gay bar in Texas, is days away from its final last call, staffers say. A long list of deferred maintenance and other financial issues plaguing the 61-year-old institution mean a last-minute cash infusion is the bar's only hope of getting it back up to code and staying open."

"None of the problems are insurmountable on their own, bartender Terry Michael Fuller told Houston's , but taken together, "they're things that cost quite a bit of money." So the bar's employees and patrons passed around a ten-gallon hat on Saturday night, with a planned benefit drag show and silent auction. Fuller said they needed to raise at least $10,000 to cover the necessary repairs and permitting."

"In a public Facebook post published in Sunday's early morning hours, the bar announced it had raised almost $20,000 in donations for the week. It's unclear if that amount includes a GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign for the bar, which has also raised $11,451 of its $14,000 goal, as of Sunday afternoon. As the bar was falling down around them, longtime show director Tiffany de la Vega used her own money for the repairs, Fuller shared."

"Then someone reported the bar to the Galveston County Health District and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. "One little red flag and they come in and start seeing other things that obviously are on a list to get done, and it just kind of snowballed," Fuller said. "Poor Tiffany has done her best to make sure that we're getting Robert's Lafitte back up to what it used to be," he said."

Robert's Lafitte, a 61-year-old Galveston dive bar and the oldest gay bar in Texas, is nearing its final last call. Deferred maintenance and other financial issues threaten the bar’s ability to reopen and remain compliant. Staff and patrons held a benefit drag show and silent auction, raising money to cover repairs and permitting. The bar announced it had raised nearly $20,000 in donations, and a GoFundMe campaign reported progress toward its goal. Repairs were partly funded by longtime show director Tiffany de la Vega, but additional inspections and regulatory attention followed after the bar was reported. The situation has escalated, requiring community support to keep the bar operating.

Read at LGBTQ Nation