Pearl Bar Houston Levels Up

Julie Mabry has worked in bars and promotions for years. That experience prepared her well for her current endeavor as the owner of Pearl, Houston’s only lesbian bar.

It’s also, unofficially, mind you, the largest lesbian bar in the world.

Recently relocated from its original location at 4216 Washington Avenue to a new spot just blocks away at 2811 Washington, the new Pearl is huge.

Actually, Pearl 2.0, as Mabry calls it, is gigantic. Enormous. And elegant.

Clients can enjoy several upscale seating areas, a large dance floor, a pool table, a swank private club room (nicknamed the Cougar Den), a lush garden area, and a full-service kitchen.

There’s also a festival-size lawn with a concert stage, an outdoor pickleball court and a food truck on site. And there’s plenty of parking. (The original location lacked any parking, a major deterrent for clients.)

Side Peace, Pearl’s smaller sister bar dedicated to watching women’s sports, is just steps away from Pearl’s main entrance. The same sophisticated vibe is present at Side Peace.

Mabry is in talks with local professional women’s sports teams for special promotions and celebrations. The Dash soccer team, among others, is a faithful partner. And basketball fans are giddy with excitement at the thought of soon-to-call-Houston-home Comets team partying at Side Peace.

After game broadcasts are done for the day, Side Peace becomes a dance bar.

A full schedule of events for both spaces is in place, including live concerts, drag king shows, pickleball games, line dancing parties, and open-air markets. A Pokémon convention is among the possible events, along with family days and drag brunches.

Mabry expects that the site will become a popular wedding destination. A couple asked about holding a ceremony there before the doors were even officially open.

The current economy, sluggish and skittish, might have discouraged other owners from expanding. Especially from expanding so dramatically. Not so with Mabry.

“I do think it was a big risk in this type of economy, but I also feel like this is a space that can survive through that, as long as we can accommodate our clients.

“I’m giving this place my all,” she says. “I believe that, especially with a queer community, [bars are] kind of their safe place, their home. There’s a necessity for a lot of people. We just want to make sure that we are an open and safe space for the community.”

There was one slight hitch during the move. Social media rumors spread that Pearl was moving not only from its former location but also from its lesbian focus to an all-inclusive LGBTQI+/everyone everywhere format. The news sparked negative backlash from local clients protective of one of only two lesbian bars in Texas.

“Pearl is a lesbian bar, now and forever,” says Mabry. “We don’t want to alienate the lesbians because this is a lesbian bar owned by a lesbian.”
It’s a lesbian bar that welcomes all members of the LGBTQI+ community and their allies, she makes clear.

According to her, it’s the community that’s changing, not the bar. Younger women, she notes, call themselves more than just lesbian. As Sapphic women expand their labels, so does Pearl, but labels aside, the focus remains the same.

“Lesbians come first at Pearl,” Mabry says, laughing.

Visit Pearl at 2811 Washington Avenue. For events visit @pearlbarhouston