Dining Out: First Dates, Defiant Nights, and Last Call Disco Fries at America's Gay Restaurants -- Erik Piepenburg in Conversation with Ashley Nicole Dawson & Christina D'Angelo

From the venue:

This event is free and takes place in person at Woofs Sports Bar (494 Plasters Ave NE Suite 200, Atlanta, GA 30324). Attendees for this event must be 21 or older. 

Charis welcomes Erik Piepenburg in conversation with Ashley Nicole Dawson & Christina D'Angelo for a discussion of Dining Out: First Dates, Defiant Nights, and Last Call Disco Fries at America's Gay Restaurants, a culinary tour of gay restaurants—their history, and how they evolved as a space of safety and celebration for the LGBTQ+ community.

Dining Out explores how gay people came of age, came out, and fought for their rights not just in gay bars or the streets, but in restaurants. From cruisy urban cafeterias of the 1920s to mom-and-pop diners that fed the Stonewall generation to the intersectional hotspots of the early 21st century. Using archival material, original reporting and interviews, and first-person accounts, Erik Piepenburg explores how LGBTQ restaurants shaped and continue to shape generations of gay Americans.

Through the eyes of a reporter and the stomach of a hungry gay man, Dining Out examines the rise, impact and legacies of the nation's gay restaurants past, present, and future, connecting meals with memories. Hamburger Mary’s, Florent, a suburban Denny’s queered by kids: Piepenburg explores how these and many other gay restaurants, coffee shops, diners, and unconventional eateries have charted queer placemaking and changed the modern LGBTQ civil rights movement for the better.  

About the Author 

 
Erik Piepenburg has been writing for The New York Times since 2004, covering LGBTQ+ issues, film, theater, television, food and travel. His writing has also appeared in The Los Angeles Times, Time Out New York, The Chicago Reader, Out magazine, and other publications. Originally and proudly from Cleveland, he lives with his partner in New York City.

About the Conversation Partners

Ashley Nicole Dawson has lived in Atlanta since 1977, they call her the "fashionista". From 1978 until it burned in 1991 she was employed by the infamous Gallus Bar & Fine Dining Restaurant. She has received many accolades and Bar awards for her chosen profession. She is currently employed by Woofs Sports Bar & Grill and has been the head chef at Woofs since 2014. She is deeply honored to be invited to this event. 

Christina D'Angelo is an award-winning art director and graphic designer whose work has been seen on marquees and playbills from Broadway to Dubai, across billboards in Times Square and (horrifyingly enough) New Jersey, and on menus from Paris to the Hamptons.

She has traveled to over 50 countries, and although she can tell you where to find the boys and the booze from Pakistan to Ethiopia, she certainly couldn't drive you there because she's never had a driver's license.

While Christina has been a New Yorker for decades, Atlanta was her first chosen home and where she found her first chosen family. She is honored to be back in her old stomping grounds to lend support for such a fun and important book about not just food but belonging. www.christinadangelo.com

About the Venue

Since 2002, Woofs Sports Bar has been the nation’s leader in full-service sports bars serving the LGBTQ community.
This event is for folks ages 21 and up
There is free onsite parking
$6 dollar burgers on Thursday night!
There is accessible parking and an accessible entrance at this venue. 

Please contact us at info@chariscircle.org or 404-524-0304 if you would like ASL interpretation at this event. If you have other accessibility needs or if you are someone who has skills in making digital events more accessible please don't hesitate to reach out to info@chariscircle.org. 

By attending our event, whether in person or virtually, you agree to our Code of Conduct: Our event seeks to provide a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), class, or technology choices. We do not tolerate harassment in any form. Unsolicited sexual language and imagery are not appropriate. Anyone violating these rules will be expelled from this event and all future events at the discretion of the organizers. Please report all harassment to Charis staff immediately or email info@chariscircle.org.