There's a New Gay Bar on Union Called Union

Its from the owners of Thumpers, the late, great gay piano bar for daddies in tweed jackets.

It's from the owners of Thumper's, the late, great gay piano bar. CF

There used to be a piano bar for gay daddies in tweed coats called Thumper's, which was great because it was unlike all the other gay bars. No dance music, no screaming twinks, no Jell-O shots. Not that I mind dancing, twinks, and Jell-O shots, they're just easier to come by than, you know, bars for gentlemen of a certain age.

So I am thrilled about the news that there's a new gay bar called Union from the former owners of Thumper's (RIP), plus the manager of the old C.C. Attle's, back when it was across the street from Thumper's.

Union opened last night.

According to Eater Seattle:

Capitol Hill’s gay bar scene has a new addition in Union, which opened yesterday with a verdant patio and an interior fireplace lounge in the former home of Restaurant Zoe. Union is owned by nightlife veterans Steve Nyman, Nathan Benedict, and Mark Engelmann...

Nyman and Benedict owned now-defunct gay bars Inside Passage and Thumper’s, while Engelmann managed competitor C.C. Attle’s.

Union is open daily from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m.

The place is at 14th and Union, across the street from Skillet and next to the gay bar Diesel. Another gay bar, Madison Pub, is on the same block, and Pony is just a hop, skip, and a jump away. This block happens to be right near The Stranger's offices, so I walked over to Union and snapped a few pics.

After taking that shot at the top of this post, I peeked over the fence:

Outdoor seating. CF

What looks almost like a gigantic TV in this image is actually the front entrance. I rounded the corner for a better look at it.

Shade-dappled entry. (The best kind of entry.) CF

Since the big outdoor door was ajar, I walked in, and saw, to my right, the patio:

Ahhhhhh. CF

And to my left, a window, which I held my iPhone up to, so you could peek inside with me:

Ample seating around a fireplace. (Maybe we should have a reading party here sometime?)

This must be the fireplace lounge. (Maybe we should have a reading party here sometime?) CF

I kept walking and, through a window, saw a worker inside the main space of the building, who let me in to see the large horseshoe-shaped bar.

This place is going to be great for making eye contact. CF

Making eye contact with other gay people is something we used to do back in the day, before everyone stared into phones instead.

It's a surprisingly big room. Here I am standing at one end. That's a mirrored wall in the distance. CF

And heres the same room from the opposite end, farthest from the windows.

Here I am at the opposite end, farthest from the windows. CF

There's also a window from this bar area into the fireplace lounge.

From another angle. CF

Alas, I didn't see a piano anywhere in the place. Maybe they'll play recordings of piano sonatas while wizened old bartenders shake martinis and tell the youngsters about Judy Garland. (A boy can dream.)

I haven't seen the place when it's open for business yet, so I can't tell you anything about the crowd or the bartenders, but (1) it's great news that in the age of Grindr and gay bars having a tough time that this place exists, and (2) we need a gay bar for daddies who want to talk about Judy Garland, we just do, because that's something missing from the scene, and (3) I can tell you what's on the menu, because I snagged a copy.