Lesbian Minneapolis — Bars, Events & Community

A Bar of Their Own is a women’s sports bar in Minneapolis built around a simple idea: showing women’s sports, all the time.

The bar screens women’s leagues and competitions across multiple sports, making it a natural gathering place for lesbian and sapphic fans as well as anyone who wants women athletes treated as the main event rather than an afterthought. The atmosphere is much more neighborhood sports bar than nightclub, with food, drinks and big-game energy.

It’s also one of the most distinctive LGBTQ+-friendly venues in Minneapolis because the community around women’s sport is such a strong part of the Twin Cities scene. Expect a mixed crowd, with plenty of lesbians, LGBTQ+ locals, sports fans and groups meeting up for games.

A Bar of Their Own is on East Franklin Avenue and is a particularly good stop during Minnesota Lynx games and major women’s sporting events.

Black Hart of Saint Paul is an LGBTQ+ neighborhood bar in St. Paul, around 10 miles east of downtown Minneapolis, and one of the strongest sapphic nightlife options in the wider Twin Cities.

The bar has a particularly strong lesbian following, but the crowd is mixed and includes gay men, trans people and other LGBTQ+ locals. It’s also known as a soccer bar, so match days can bring a very different energy from the usual drag, karaoke and community nights.

Black Hart works well if you want something more local and less clubby than downtown Minneapolis nightlife. It has the feel of a proper neighborhood bar, with regular events and a crowd that tends to know the place well.

Although it is not in Minneapolis itself, it is absolutely worth including in a Minneapolis lesbian guide because the Twin Cities LGBTQ+ scene regularly crosses between Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Die 19 Bar ist die älteste Schwulenbar in Minneapolis und eine der wahren LGBTQ+-Institutionen der Stadt, deren Wurzeln bis in die 1950er Jahre zurückreichen.

Es ist eher eine urige Nachbarschaftskneipe als ein Club: Billardtische, Dartscheiben, eine Jukebox, günstige Getränke und ein treues Stammpublikum. Seit Langem ist es ein Treffpunkt für schwule Männer, fernab vom grellen Ambiente größerer Nachtclubs, und genau dieser unaufdringliche Charakter macht noch immer einen großen Teil seines Reizes aus.

Die Bar wurde 2025 wiedereröffnet, nachdem sie nach einem Brand infolge eines nahegelegenen Unfalls fast ein Jahr lang geschlossen bleiben musste. Ihre Wiedereröffnung war lokal ein großes Ereignis, nicht nur wegen ihrer Geschichte, sondern auch, weil die 19 Bar seit Generationen ein fester Bestandteil des LGBTQ+-Lebens in Minneapolis ist.

Hier kann man nur bar bezahlen, also seid vorbereitet. Erwartet einen entspannten, unkomplizierten Abend ohne DJs oder große Shows. Wer ein Stück schwuler Geschichte von Minneapolis erleben möchte, das sich aber immer noch wie eine urige Kneipe anfühlt, sollte unbedingt die 19 Bar besuchen.

Queermunity MN is an LGBTQ+ and BIPOC community space, café and event venue in Minneapolis’ Uptown area, created as an alternative to nightlife-led socialising.

Open to the public with free general entry, Queermunity combines a café, co-working space, private offices and event rooms with a busy calendar of community programming. Regular events include Friday Friend Lab, book clubs, open mics, discussion groups and social gatherings, alongside more targeted support such as Trans Health Insurance Help and the monthly Trans Resilience Night.

For trans visitors, Queermunity is particularly useful because it offers practical support as well as somewhere to simply spend time. Trans Resilience Night includes gender-affirming gear giveaways and a community hangout, while the insurance sessions are run with trans navigators and accept walk-ins.

The café is open Wednesday to Sunday, with food, coffee and drinks, and alcohol served from 4pm on those days. If you’re looking to connect with LGBTQ+ Minneapolis outside the bar scene, this is one of the most useful community spaces to know.