Our Bar patrons Our Bar in Wellington's Cuba St had everything going for it. A great location, it was well designed, it rocked with the best of them and it felt kind of, well, homely when you walked inside. Like you were walking into someone's house that just happened to be having one hell of a party. But the party, as they say, is over. The doors shut for the last time on Saturday, one month shy of its first birthday. But in those 11 months it sparkled and its memory will hold a special place in the hearts of many. Some say the bar should have tried harder to attract a wider cross section of the LGBT community. That part of the problem was it became too much of an L Bar. Maybe. But it never intended to be all things to all things queer. Manager Sharon Boyd, speaking to GayNZ a few hours before the final drinks were poured, says the original idea was to open a place where women, and men who did not like the club scene, could come and hang out in a relaxed environment.. And hang out they did but just not often enough. “So many have come in tonight, our last night, and said I wish I had come in more often now. “You know I've got that comment like 100 times tonight.” Our Bar manager Sharon Boyd Sharon admits she did not quite have enough capital or expertise behind her to make the bar more successful. Even using volunteer bar staff did not make it pay. “I had the heart but not the capital. I really believed in it,'' she says. This past winter has also been rough on inner Wellington bars, with some reporting sales down 20 percent or more. But even knowing the risks, Sharon says she would do it again. “Yes, I love it. I'm a sucker for punishment. “But I'd only do it again because girls do need somewhere to go.” Regular patron and volunteer bar staffer Caroline Prendergast says Our Bar was the best. “When I'm 80, I'm going to talk about Our Bar as the golden days.” Another supporter, Jo Scully says it is sad to see another gay bar close in Wellington. “It's been a great place. Sharon has been a fantastic host. We've all loved it here.” Ronald Nelson, organiser of Queers Gone Kiwi, an immigrant group that met weekly at the bar says Our Bar will be remembered as a bright spot in Wellington's queer history. “There's ways to measure success besides revenue. “Lots of women met women here, men met men . . . even the odd breeders I would guess. “Yep, plenty of hook-ups and hang-overs,” he says. David Cosgriff - 2nd October 2007