Val’s Lesbian Bar just opened its doors in Queen Village, helping fill a void as Philadelphia’s first lesbian bar since Toasted Walnut closed in 2021, writes Julia Binswanger for Billy Penn at WHYY.
For co-owners and girlfriends Clover Gilfor and Julia Harris, this venture was personal to them.
“We just wanted this space to exist,” said Harris. “We wanted a space to exist for the lesbian and queer community in Philly that could be a place you could go, six nights a week and just have a drink — a place where you can go on a weekend for a party, a place where you can go sing karaoke and just be surrounded by other lesbian and queer people.”
Harris added that the goal was a create a space that celebrates love in all its forms.
Lesbian bars are rather rare across the U.S., as the Lesbian Bar Project reported that there was only 24 in 2021, compared to over 200 in 1980.
Val’s is located just blocks away from Marsha’s, which celebrated its opening in September 2025 as Philadelphia’s first women’s sports bar.
Looking ahead, the owners want to eventually start hosting events and making Val’s a hub for Philadelphia’s lesbian and queer communities.
Read more about what the opening of Val’s means for the city in Billy Penn at WHYY.
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