Henrietta Hudson
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| Henrietta Hudson | |
|---|---|
 Henrietta Hudson exterior in 2022 | |
 Interactive map of Henrietta Hudson | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | 1991 |
| Owner | Lisa Cannistraci |
| Location | 438 Hudson Street, New York City, New York, United States of America |
Henrietta Hudson, originally named Henrietta Hudson Bar & Girl, is a queer[1] restaurant and lounge in Manhattan's West Village neighborhood.[2] It operated as a lesbian bar from 1991 to 2014. Until it rebranded in 2021,[3] it was one of three remaining lesbian bars in New York City.[4][5][6] Henrietta Hudson's location is the original location of the Cubbyhole bar,[7] which had the distinction of being lesbian-owned and managed.[8][9][10]
Lisa Cannistraci and bar owner Minnie Rivera opened Henrietta Hudson in 1991 as a lesbian-centric bar.[7] The name is a feminization of Henry Hudson, the namesake of the Hudson River.[11] The establishment became New York City's longest-operating lesbian bar after the closure of other similar venues.[12][4][13][14][15] Gay liberation icon Stormé DeLarverie was a bouncer at Henrietta Hudson well into her 80s.[6]
Part of the bar's ongoing evolution included removal of the "lesbian bar" descriptor in 2014.[16] In a 2019 interview, Lisa Cannistraci said she did not "care whether or not it is known specifically as a lesbian bar...I just want people to come and have a great experience."[13] Following its closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cannistraci announced plans to rebrand and expand Henrietta Hudson into a "café, lounge, bistro, coffee house, [and] cocktail place".[3][17][18]
The rebranding, however, resulted in controversy due to Cannistraci soliciting financial contributions from lesbians with a "Save the Bar" crowdfunding for Henrietta Hudson,[19][20][21] and also participating in the Lesbian Bar Project fundraising campaign to save lesbian bars,[22][23] despite using the donations to reopen the venue as a "queer" space no longer catering exclusively to lesbians.[24]
