Last Ditch, Greenfield lesbian bar at centre of mask row, announces it is closing

Left · 2The Last Ditch, a bar in downtown Greenfield, Massachusetts, has announced on Instagram that it is "SOFT CLOSING effective immediately" and needs "new owners ASAP". 1 2 Right · 1The New York Post reports that the bar will close fully by winter, and that the Instagram post said it would shut down except for already booked events. 3 Left · 1Booked events are to go ahead, and the Independent reports that karaoke and an open mic night remain on the calendar for this week. 1

Left · 1The bar was founded in 2025 by three housemates, Asa Rosario, Jackie Matellian and Sage Territo, to fill a gap left by the closure of two other local queer venues, and describes itself as a space for lesbians and others including "transsexuals, gender freaks, workers and their friends". 1 Left · 2It had required masks; its attention began in September when The Boston Globe reported on internal conflict over Covid rules after the owners made masks optional on Saturday nights. 1 2 Left · 2Critics online said the change abandoned immunocompromised patrons; Metro quotes some of the roughly 400 comments, which included an abusive wish that the venue be firebombed, and says Greenfield had reported no Covid cases for two months. 1 2

Right · 1The New York Post says masks were still required on all other days, that critics called the change a "mass disabling event" and a "eugenicist" attack, and that irate customers banded together to boycott, leaving the bar empty on typically busy nights. 3 Left · 1The bar apologised for announcing the access change in a casual way, and Metro says the owner pleaded with patrons, citing thousands of dollars in debt and living out of a car. 2 Right · 1The Post, citing a monthly community meeting on Sept. 11, says Jackie Matellian, described as the last remaining owner, broke down in tears, saying she was the last of her friends in charge, was burdened by a business loan and was living in a car to make bar payments; it also says sales were already declining under a policy that nobody would be barred for lack of funds. 3

Left · 1The Independent reports that the Globe piece spread so widely that its agency, UTA, confirmed inquiries from Hollywood studios about TV, film or documentary adaptations; the first mask-optional Saturday brought dozens of new customers, but not enough to keep the bar open. 1 Left · 2The owners said they had put their lives on hold to build networks of care and a base for organising, and that it was time to pass it on; they have no board or leadership in place to manage a transfer to a workers' co-op, and a graphic listed $70,000 of equipment, furniture and inventory. 2 1 Left · 1Greenfield's Community and Economic Development Director, Amy Cahillane, told The New York Times that "it is always a shame to lose a small business." 1