The LGBTQ+-friendly Orlando restaurant involved in a landmark lawsuit pushing back against Florida's culture wars is closing its doors next month.
Popular for its drag queen brunches, Hamburger Mary's successfully sued last year to stop SB 1438, which banned children from attending drag queen shows.
Hamburger Mary's announced it will close business at the end of the day June 2, citing a changing downtown Orlando environment as the reason why. The restaurant's owners called their news "bittersweet" and said they hope to reopen somewhere else in the future.
"For over 16 years, Hamburger Marys has operated from our 4,400 sq ft store on Church St and to date have served almost 2 million happy souls," the restaurant's Facebook post said. "So many amazing drag performers who have come through our doors to entertain our guests and allowed us to win so many awards for Best Drag Shows, Bingo, Trivias and Brunches in town."
Within 12 hours of the post, nearly 400 people responded with well wishes, stories and suggestions where to relocate.
Hamburger Mary's post went on to say, "Thank you all for always supporting us. We encourage you to continue to support our local LGBTQIA+ owned and operated businesses as well as those operated by our allies."
Hamburger Mary sued the Gov. Ron DeSantis administration last year and argued the law banning children from attending live adult performances violated the restaurant's First Amendment rights and was overly broad.
A federal Judge sided with Hamburger Mary and halted the rule. The state had gone as far as to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to block the Judge's injunction that kept the law from taking effect. The highest court in the land later denied the state's request.
Downtown Orlando's bar and restaurant district is several blocks near the municipal government buildings and Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts — about 30 minutes from Disney World. The local media has covered concerns about downtown Orlando's safety in recent months. The latest troubles are over parking. Several other longtime restaurants and bars have left the area, reopening further away.
"Downtown Orlando has been great to us. However, times have changed. The hustle and bustle of Downtown Orlando has given way to a sleepy city with few people working downtown and opting for remote, and less traffic in the evenings," Hamburger Mary's said in the social media post.
The restaurant's owners added they are in negotiations to find a new venue and asked anyone with a space to contact them.
"We are excited about what lies ahead and can't wait to share it with you," the post said.
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