Eszett had struggled throughout much of the past few pandemic years but was a deeply personal space for many. Similar to Silver Lake’s natural wine bar Jewell which opened in 2018, Both Honey’s and Ruby Fruit are the work of women who wanted to create safe spaces in Los Angeles.īoth Herbkersman and Bielagus were saddened when Eszett closed, and when the possibility of reopening a new business in the same space became tangible, they wondered how they could make it work. The wine bar’s timing is a fascinating one for Los Angeles, in part because a second woman/lesbian-owned bar called Honey’s at Star Love is also on the horizon, opening this weekend just a few miles away in East Hollywood. As for the name, the bar is an homage to Rita Mae Brown’s 1974 coming-of-age novel The Rubyfruit Jungle. Of course, Herbkersman and Bielagus are quick to clarify that the Ruby Fruit is not just a lesbian bar, it also welcomes those who have yet to find a comforting and personal space of their own, including nonbinary, gender-nonconforming, and trans people. Though Los Angeles is filled with bars that cater to queer men, lesbian Angelenos have a more difficult time finding a place to call home. Together they turned around the Ruby Fruit in just one month, opening the front door on Tuesday, February 21 - a fast transformation for such a big idea. The pair have also begun a journey back to relevance for lesbian-owned queer bars, many of which were struggling and outright disappearing even before the pandemic further decimated the hospitality industry.įormer Eszett employees Emily Bielagus and Mara Herbkersman plotted a strategy to open their dream bar in the middle of Silver Lake, after that neighborhood restaurant announced its closure back in January. The owners of the Ruby Fruit, Silver Lake’s new natural wine bar, have more than just a new business on their hands.
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