The only thing I could compare the feelings I felt after hearing about their closing was losing someone I love.” “It may sound childish, or immature, but I was heartbroken. It was where I met my chosen family and fully found myself,” Kalorie tells NewNowNext.
“To me, it was more than just a bar, a place to hang out, it was home. In addition to the bar’s owners and patrons, the SOCH’s closing deeply saddened drag queens who performed there-including Kalorie, who was a staple on the club’s stage. “But we have to live with it, and it’s not an easy thing to live with.” “We tried to save it and we had to make a very tough decision, and it’s a decision a lot of us aren’t happy with,” Jay Decker, president of the bar’s board, told The Journal.
Just this week, The Albuquerque Journal reported that the city’s oldest gay bar-Albuquerque Social Club, or the “SOCH,” as it is lovingly known-would be shutting its doors for good after almost 50 years in operation. Sidewinders Ranch, a popular bar and drag venue where Drag Race queens like Milk and BenDeLaCreme performed, moved to a smaller location earlier this year. Although more members of New Mexico’s LGBTQ community are getting recognized, safe places for them to gather are disappearing.
