The Comeback Seattle was an LGBT-friendly bar and nightclubinSeattle's SoDo neighborhood, in the U.S. stateofWashington. Described as a gay bar and queer sports bar, The Comeback hosted drag shows and RuPaul's Drag Race viewing parties. The short-lived bar opened in early 2022 and closed on April 30, 2023. It was co-owned by Floyd Lovelady, a former general manager of the gay bar and nightclub R Place, as well as John Fish.
The space was approximately 9,000 square feet and had a seating capacity of 150 to 200 people. The building consisted of modular walls, a game area to play darts and pool, and gender-neutral restrooms.[6]The Stranger's Renee Raketty noted the large open space with an "impressive stage and long bar". She said the venue was ADA-compliant, "with all the public areas on the same floor", and said the space had a large prep kitchen, a walk-in refrigerator, an office, and other private areas.[2]
Co-owners Floyd Lovelady and John Fish[7] opened The Comeback in early 2022,[4][8] in a building which had housed the bar, event rental space, and nightclub Eden Seattle. Previously, Lovelady was the general manager of the gay bar R Place.[9] In 2021, Matt BaumeofThe Stranger said that with Lovelady managing The Comeback, he felt as if it was R Place's "spiritual successor".[6] According to Lovelady, The Comeback was meant to match the spirit and mood of R Place by bringing back old activities.[2]
The Comeback was Lovelady's first bar to own.[6] Following R Place's closure, he and Fish (a former patron) formed The Comeback Seattle LLC, acquired R Place's social media accounts, and became co-managing partners of The Comeback.[2][10] The SoDo location, approximately twice as large as R Place,[11] was proposed by the SoDo Business Improvement Association; Lovelady found SoDo appealing because of its relatively lower cost, central location, nearby parking availability, and limited noise restrictions.[7] R Place's head security host was hired to work at The Comeback.[2]
The Comeback's redesign was led by Andrew "Ace" Grant Houston[12] of House Cosmopolitan. Houston told Seattle Gay News that he was proud of his work, as the bar "represents the continuation of local Capitol Hill history in spirit".[2] The bar raised funds for the renovation via Indiegogo.[2]
In November 2021, Eater Seattle said The Comeback was planning to open in December.[13] In December, the business was hiring bar-backs, bartenders, hosts, servers, and other positions,[6] and aimed to host a grand opening on February 11.[14] In January 2022, The Comeback held a soft launch and moved the grand opening to mid-February due to supply chain issues.[7]Silky Nutmeg Ganache headlined "Lashes" in February.[8] Other events the bar hosted in 2022 included a ten-week drag competition called "So You Think You Can Drag",[3] an after party for a bar crawl held in conjunction with Pride Month,[15] and RuPaul's Drag Race viewing parties.[16]
The Comeback closed on April 30, 2023.[17] According to a social media post, the bar closed as a decision to "step aside" and let others influence the Seattle's LGBT community and scene.[1] The Comeback had a "blowout" liquor sale,[4] and the "Lashes" series was moved to Unicorn.[1]
Media related to The Comeback Seattle at Wikimedia Commons
