“Back then, that was a novelty but that was before the internet,” Gary laughs. They were, in fact, the first gay bar in Pittsburgh to offer totally nude dancing. “Let’s face it…sex sells” Gary says, and since Anthony’s had offered nude dancing, P-Town was grandfathered in so they opted to continue the tradition. There was one aspect of the former Anthony’s Lounge that Jeff and Gary wanted to keep around, though. It was so bad that when the guys approached Baum Boulevard Automotive and Pep Boys about using their lots for evening parking, both businesses said, “absolutely not.” Over the first couple of months it took a lot of convincing to win them over, including patrolling the lots after-hours for any stray bottles, cans, etc., but the P-Town team has had a great relationship with their neighbors ever since. Anthony’s Lounge was something of a nuisance bar with public urination, drug deals, and other illegal activity creating problems for nearby establishments. We’ve all heard the cliche about how gays moving in tends to spruce up a neighborhood but with P-Town Jeff and Gary were determined to do just that. I didn’t expect it to be like that, to have all my friends come in, it made me feel really good.” “I knew we had something special because the bar was jam-packed. “Not only did I have my personal friends, I had my friends that used to come into Pegasus all the time,” Jeff says. P-Town had its grand opening on March 15, 2007, and Jeff was blown away by the crowd that night. Confident that this location on Baum Boulevard would be more welcoming, the window was added.
Gay bars were starting to emerge from the seedier parts of town and open in nicer areas. That might not seem like a big deal but, at the time, this was an uncommon move for gay bars as “you didn’t want anyone outside knowing what was happening on the inside,” Gary says, “in case of heckling, vandalism, things of that sort.” But around that time there was a notable shift in gay culture. Photo by Adam Shuck.ĭuring renovations, Gary suggested installing a window at the front of the bar. Did you know? P-Town is the home base for popular queer dance party Jellyfish. “We knew that the guys from The Holiday (a landmark Pittsburgh gay bar in operation for 40 years) were ready to retire,” Gary remembers, “so we wanted to coincide our opening with their closing.” Not only that, the guys modeled their bar after The Holiday, taking Anthony’s bar setup (with the bar tight against the wall) and replacing it with a “cruise bar,” which allowed patrons to walk the whole way around the bar. Over the course of the next year, Jeff and Gary completely gutted and renovated the place with a self-imposed deadline of spring 2007 looming on the horizon. They set up a tour of the space and, even though it was the first and only location they looked at, Jeff knew this was the place for their bar. One day, Jeff and his then-partner Gary Altavilla, were dropping off a car for inspection at Baum Boulevard Automotive when they saw that the straight strip club across the street, Anthony’s Lounge, was empty and sporting a “For Rent” sign. As a certified bartender with eleven years of experience managing the now-legendary Pegasus Lounge, it seemed like a natural progression, despite the fact that he didn’t really have the money or know-how needed to actually do it. Jeffrey Wheeler had always dreamed of opening his own bar.