#STRIP CLUB BARTENDER IN ALL BLACK SERIES#
#STRIP CLUB BARTENDER IN ALL BLACK WINDOWS#

These famous individuals visited the Cork because they felt at home. The historic bar opened in the 1940s back then, it was a popular gathering spot for Black locals, touring musicians, and legendary clientele like Cab Calloway, Ella Fitzgerald, and Sarah Vaughan. In early 2020, the Black Hour’s organizers were still mourning the Cork’s abrupt closure five months earlier, in September. As one of the few remaining Black-owned bars in all of Los Angeles, the Living Room, a South LA institution, needed new life and fresh revenue streams, something the Black Hour’s organizers hoped to bring to it. All of these bars were cherished spaces for those living in the neighborhood and the Black community beyond. In recent years, gentrification brought on the closures of beloved Black-owned watering holes like the Cork, Crenshaw Live, and the Brownstone on Pico. The Living Room is one of the few Black-owned bars left in Southern California. The Black Hour’s organizers hoped to bring deeper awareness to LA’s disappearing Black-owned bars with a multigenerational meetup over strong cocktails. Once or twice a month, this group traveled from places like Long Beach, Jefferson Park, Inglewood, Northeast LA, or Crenshaw to hang out at the Living Room.

#STRIP CLUB BARTENDER IN ALL BLACK SERIES#

I was researching a story about the Black Hour, a series of happy hours that drew an attractive mix of Southern California’s young Black professionals. Gavin Newsom called for Angelenos to shelter in place, I spent a lot of time at the Living Room.

Outside the Living Room in West Adams Wonho Frank Lee

#STRIP CLUB BARTENDER IN ALL BLACK WINDOWS#

The selections are an ideal mix of old and new school, funky enough to prompt adjacent apartment building residents to open their windows and enjoy the sounds. On Friday nights, Susan hires a DJ who spins the likes of Aaliyah, Maxwell, Missy Elliott, and Luther Vandross.

Carnell is following the rules laid out by California’s Alcoholic Beverage Control board, which requires cocktails to be served with food while indoor dining and drinking are restricted, so customers order barbecue, burgers, and Mexican fare from Tiffany’s Catering. Since Carnell reopened the Living Room on August 24, patrons have taken to hanging out in the rear parking lot to drink and eat on high-top tables under shade structures.

In fall 2020, no one rings the bell anymore. During pre-pandemic times, that person might be a bartender, the owner, Susan Carnell, or one of the many older patrons who sit on those barstools to hang out on Crenshaw just south of Adams Boulevard. It’s striking how loud and satisfying it is, but its only purpose is to notify someone to open the locked metal gate. That may be why it’s so comforting that the Living Room’s vintage “ding dong” chime sounds exactly as you would imagine. Slightly further down on Adams Boulevard, construction and demolition activity is frequent, and popular restaurants like Alta Adams and Mizlala are only blocks away. Two doors away from Phillips is a modern, 50-unit, five-story apartment building completed in 2019. It’s impossible to miss the change happening nearby.

Strip club bartender in all black