Blow to LGBTQ scene as two gay bars close doors
January 2025 marks the end of two bars in Neil Road which serve the LGBTQ crowd – Tuckshop closed on Jan 18 and Sausage Market will call it a day on Jan 26. Both cited financial challenges.
The bars’ management announced their closures on Instagram and said they faced financial troubles due to a business partner “funnelling funds out of the business for his personal debt”. The post also alleged that this partner has since left the country.
The bars’ co-founder Jasper Goh said the financial troubles caught him by surprise. “There are no ways forward because the companies are left with mounting debts. We’ve reported the case to the authorities and, hopefully, it’ll be investigated quickly.”
Opened in 2024, Tuckshop was Singapore’s only drag bar, featuring stage shows by drag queens – performers who adopt exaggerated female personas and make-up for entertainment that typically incorporates comedy, lip-syncing and dance routines.
Sausage Market, which opened in 2023, bills itself as the country’s first go-go boy bar.
Both bars are part of a small but growing number of LGBTQ-focused establishments that opened in recent years. According to Mr Goh, the bars collectively employed between 20 and 30 people.
Tuckshop’s bar manager, a drag queen who performs under the stage name Salome Blaque, described the closures as very sudden. “We’re still processing everything...Tuckshop wasn’t just a bar. It was a safe haven, a space where everyone could be themselves and celebrate the incredible art of drag,” said the performer.
Patrons of the establishments who spoke to The Straits Times were also taken aback, as there was little indication the businesses were struggling.
Mr Sklier Mark Manriquez, 29, a Filipino engineer who is a fan of the reality TV series RuPaul’s Drag Race (2009 to present), described Tuckshop as a safe space for the local LGBTQ community. “Having Tuckshop here allowed me to find my place and my people,” he said. “It’s so sad to hear about it closing down.”
Mr Victor Pang, a 30-year-old drama educator, said he was “saddened but not surprised” by the closures, noting that spaces for Singapore’s LGBTQ community are often temporary.
Tuckshop’s drag shows drew a diverse mix of locals and expatriates, as well as many from outside the LGBTQ community, he added.
Canadian expatriate Michael Gagnon, 41, sees the bar’s closure as a loss to the local nightlife. “It is very sad to lose Tuckshop, which had top-quality drag shows and was one of the rare gay dance clubs in Singapore’s fluctuating nightlife scene.”
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