Massachusetts Lesbian Bar Last Ditch Faces Boycott Over Relaxing Mask Mandate
In the city of Greenfield in western Massachusetts, the inclusive lesbian bar and arts venue Last Ditch has become the center of a bitter controversy and boycott from members of the local queer community. The dispute erupted after management decided to make respirator masks optional on Saturday nights in an effort to draw more patrons and stave off financial collapse.
The backlash began following an August 31, 2026 social media update from the bar, which announced among its weekend events: “It is with love we inform our immunocompromised disabled divas we will be opening Saturday nights as mask optional.” On all other nights, the venue kept its strict requirement that guests wear well-fitted KN-95 masks or better at all times. The announcement drew hundreds of hostile comments, with activists and some patrons accusing the venue of “ableism,” discrimination, and endangering the lives of vulnerable individuals. A follow-up apology by management provoked further outrage when the graphic was posted without descriptive alternative text (alt-text) for visually impaired users.
According to reporting by The Boston Globe , the relaxation of the mask rule was driven by dire financial strain. Last Ditch was launched in 2025 by three young housemates aiming to create an accessible space of mutual aid: entry was offered on a “pay-what-you-can” model, low-income visitors were never turned away, and the venue maintained a “free store” offering clothes, harm-reduction supplies, and over-the-counter medicine. However, the venue soon fell behind on expenses as few guests paid cover charges, and two co-founders stepped back due to personal commitments and health reasons, with one enrolling in clown school. The entire financial responsibility—including repayment of a $50,000 startup loan and thousands of dollars in overdue rent—fell onto the sole remaining operator, 26-year-old Jackie Matellian, who worked four jobs and lived in her pickup truck for six months to keep the bar open.
On September 11, the bar hosted a tense community meeting with professional mediators to address the fallout. Matellian wept as she described the venue’s crushing debt and the difficulty of running the business alone, but virtual attendees led by local queer organizer Soe Noire dismissed her statements as emotional deflection and demanded accountability for perceived harm. Meanwhile, bar staff noted that earlier dogmatism around mask enforcement had alienated potential customers, particularly as Greenfield, a city of fewer than 18,000 residents, had not logged a confirmed COVID-19 case in over two months.
Last Ditch is an independent queer and sapphic space in Franklin County, serving LGBTQ+ residents of Massachusetts’s Pioneer Valley as an evening venue, community lounge, and mutual-aid hub.
Previously, Uránia covered journalist Rachel Karp’s book “The Lesbian Bar Chronicles” , which examines the struggle for survival facing sapphic venues across the United States: over recent decades, their nationwide tally declined from around two hundred to just a few dozen, leaving surviving establishments to grapple with balancing financial solvency and heightened subcultural expectations.
