Good Judy’s Western Colorado’s Queer Nightclub is Born

The bastion of Boebert politics, few would identify Grand Junction, Colorado as a queer-friendly travel destination. Lifelong resident Jesse Daniels hopes to change that, inviting residents and tourists alike to ditch the holsters and don ruby slippers in the city’s newest nightclub, Good Judy’s. 

The nightclub, which opened on St. Patrick’s day of 2023, pays homage to the Old Hollywood queer icon Judy Garland. 

“It’s a throwback to the days when it was illegal to be queer in public. We used to identify each other as friends of Dorothy. Good, meaning good. Judy, meaning friend. Good Judy’s.” 

Co-owned by Daniels and Vann Guitierrez, Good Judy’s is Western Colorado and Eastern Utah’s only queer nightclub. It took over the former Charlie Dwellington’s at the intersection of 1st and Main Streets. 

“We had roughly three weeks to open doors. It was hell on wheels,” Daniels says. “We’re super proud of the VIP area and DJ booth. The stage and the dressing room are going to be huge for entertainers, and you can’t forget our sick-ass sound system. This is a Vegas-level quality sound system. It’s definitely something that sets us apart in every market that I’ve seen.” 

Good Judy’s is open Tuesday through Sunday and hosts an array of events including resident DJ nights, drag shows, karaoke, and brunch, a monthly Zodiac party, and a long-standing Western Slope LGBTQ+ social night, First Friday. 

“It’s fulfilling,” resident drag queen Stella Rae Van-Dyke says. “This is a space where queer people are able to fill up their cup, metaphorically and literally. They can take that back out into the world. To be in this space is to always have my cup full.” 

Careful work was put into developing a queer forward atmosphere from the pastel purple patio to walls adorned with body-positive rainbow artwork from Grand Junction artist Kalena Pe’a. The bathrooms are also the first and only gender-neutral bathrooms in Grand Junction’s downtown area, featuring a mural done by Daniels’ sister, Brooke Safken-Bartholomew. 

“We wanted to do something really different with the bathroom because we are a queer space and we don’t give a damn,” Daniels says.

The mural centers an upside down pink triangle, the protest symbol utilized by the Act Up Movement comparing government apathy during the AIDS epidemic to the systematic killing of queer and gender queer people by the Nazi regime. Rainbow wings extend from the triangle covering both of the bathroom doors. 

“It feels like home,” patron Vincent Davis says. “It’s knowing that as unsure as you feel about yourself on the outside of the building, you feel safe to be yourself and decisive, or indecisive, inside.” 

Despite operating out and proud  in one of the state’s most conservative areas, the nightclub has been well received by the larger community. 

“We’ve been fairly lucky in this community in that we don’t get as much pushback as I always anticipate us getting. But there are challenges,” Daniels says. 

Grand Junction has a population about one tenth the size of Denver, Colorado, making the opportunity for queer nightlife, or any diverse nightlife, operationally challenging. Where larger metropolitan-area bars and nightclubs can cater to specific interests, Good Judy’s has striven to create a space where the entire queer and gender queer spectrum can have a good time together.

“We definitely focus more on having the safe space so you can be yourself,” bar manager Joshua Beckage says. “It’s bigger than us. I come from an area where the bears went out on Thursday, and the twinks went somewhere else. It was very cliquish. Here it doesn’t matter. It’s a whole. Together.” 

Beckage, who moved to Grand Junction from Pennsylvania in 2022, was nervous about being able to build a meaningful life on Colorado’s Western Slope. 

“When I moved to Colorado, I was very intimidated, and when I moved to this area, had I not known there was a space like this, my entire life would be different,” Beckage says. “I got a place to live, a job, and a tight-knit community of people that I rely on. It changed everything.” 

Good Judy’s isn’t only providing a safe and fun space for LGBTQ patrons, it is also providing a much-needed avenue of employment for queer and gender-queer residents in Grand Junction. According to the U.S. Beurea of Labor Statistics, Grand Junction has a job market that is occupationally concentrated with average wages below the national average. In 2021, the Kaiser Foundation also noted that COVID-related job loss was experienced to a much larger degree by LGBTQ adults.

“Damn near everyone falls on the queer spectrum save for maybe two or three individuals,” Daniels says. “We’ve always been the token, never the majority, so it’s fantastic.” 

But Good Judy’s isn’t just a good queer business. It’s good business for Grand Junction’s entire downtown sector, situated in an area of downtown undergoing significant development. 

“A lot of effort is going into the West end of Main Street with the development of the I-70 B coordinator,” Trent Prall, Grand Junction Public Works Director, says. “We are looking at a mobility hub where we will bring in a lot of public transportation elements into one location. It’s where Amtrac currently has a station and a private investment has been proposed to redo our Union Station which was one of only three in the State.” 

Across the street from Good Judy’s, a new, 256-unit apartment complex is under construction as the city’s population continues to increase. 

“We lost a significant chunk of the population after oil and gas and the recession,” Elizabeth Forgaty, Director of Visit Grand Junction, says. “Now that Grand Junction’s population is trending toward significant growth, I think that will naturally attract diversity in our community. I think (Good Judy’s) says we’re very welcoming and we support culturally diverse groups, and I think it will attract other businesses as well.” 

The City of Grand Junction has invested in attracting LGBTQ tourism through Visit Grand Junction in collaborations with Pride Journey’s and the travel blog “2 Dads With Baggage.” They have also promoted Good Judy’s First Friday and Second Saturday drag show. 

“We’re successful with our brand because we bring all the elements of what this community has to offer into one platform that naturally creates a culture where we’re all complimenting each other,” Forgaty says. 

Visit Grand Junction’s Consumer Survey platform shows tourists appreciating Grand Junction’s friendly atmosphere and locals in comparison to other Colorado travel destinations. While that data does not specifically capture LGBTQ tourist attitudes, Good Judy’s is a solid indicator that Grand Junction is becoming a more welcoming sector of the State. 

While the former Charlie Dwellington’s provided a safe space for the LGBTQ community and hosted a variety of LGBTQ events, prior to Good Judy’s, there has never been an openly queer bar or nightclub in the downtown sector of Grand Junction. 

In the late ‘80s, advertisements for Quincy Bar could be found in the independent LGBTQ journal The Paragon.Advertisements ran the accompanying text, “Cruising Place for Gays and Lesbians: Straight Before 8 PM.” 

“The queer scene back then was very disjointed. We had Quincy, which was under different ownership back then,” Daniels says. “It was very predatory towards the gay demographic, wanting our money but not giving us anything for it. They wouldn’t call themselves a gay bar. It was very well known than the gay folk frequentented, but there were no assurances that it was a safe space.” 

Evidence of a cultural shift is alive and well at Good Judy’s, promising a safe, welcoming, and celebratory environment for Grand Junction’s LGBTQ locals and tourists considering a visit to Colorado’s Western Slope. 

“I’ve seen people in public who completely blossom here and free themselves from the stress of where they’re at in their journey,” Beckage says. “The part that I enjoy the most is looking around and just seeing happy people.”   

Photos by Joshua Scott Smith; Models: Marcela Ayon-Salas, Taylor Rubalcaba