The space is still very much under renovation. Walls are being painted, backrooms are being cleared out and kitchen equipment is being acquired. But Daniel Tharp is excited about opening Prism, which would be the only queer-focused bar in the Rogue Valley.
“Probably since 2010 I've been thinking about opening a club," said Tharp, also the owner of Rogue Party Bus. "So when I started my other business, what I really wanted to do was start this business, and it just really didn't come to fruition at the time.”
Tharp said the LGBTQ community has really needed a space of its own in the region. The nearest queer bar is Nite Owl in Klamath Falls.
Tharp said while other bars host drag shows, there’s always the possibility they could stop because of pushback from anti-LGBTQ community members.
“But when the business is the queer community and our community, that's not going to happen," he said.
Tharp gathered together 19 other co-investors to bring this project to life. They’re renovating the basement of what used to be a nightclub called Ground Zero, which closed in the early 2000s. It's now owned by the owners of the Japanese restaurant, Oh's Osaka, just upstairs.
Tharp said they’re trying to open the club with far less money than it would usually take. But he believes it’s important to get this space open.
"When you look at all the fees and the licensing and the music rights and all of that, it eats your money very fast," said Tharp.
They don’t have a definitive opening date yet. But Tharp is hoping to get the place running by the end of winter.
