A Massachusetts lesbian bar that ignited a messy culture war after lifting a longstanding mask mandate — for just one night a week — is closing.
Last Ditch Bar in Greenfield announced on Instagram Monday that it will shut down “effective immediately” except for already booked events, and fully close by winter.
The bar, made famous by a buzzy Boston Globe article last month, said it would need “new owners ASAP.”
“We are SOFT CLOSING effective immediately, all BOOKED events will CONTINUE, otherwise we are CLOSED,” the post said. “Love and solidarity to all.”
Last Ditch gained notoriety from a buzzy Boston Globe article last month, after the bar decided to scrap its strict face mask requirements on Saturdays in a bid to boost business, making them “optional” for patrons.
“It is with love we inform our immunocompromised disabled divas we will be opening Saturday nights as mask optional,” Last Ditch innocently wrote in an August Instagram post.
The watering hole, started by three housemates in 2025, still required masks on all other days — but the move immediately drew fierce backlash.
Members of the small city’s queer community accused the bar of risking the lives of immunocompromised people — with some high-strung critics dramatically correlating the choice to a “mass disabling event” and a “eugenicist” attack.
“I hope your venue gets firebombed for robbing my fellow immunocompromised people of their Saturday plans just to scrape extra revenue from ablists [sic],” one commenter wrote on the western Massachusetts bar’s post announcing the change, the Boston Globe reported.
“People like you kill disabled people in the name of your own leisure and convenience,” wrote another, while a third said, “Just say you’re being complicit in a mass disabling event and get it over with.”
The business was soon empty on typically busy nights, as irate customers banded together to boycott.
Sales had already been declining over the bar’s ridiculous business model: “Nobody will be barred from entry due to lack of funds” and “Poor and unhoused people are welcome in the space.”
The bar tried to address the controversy during a monthly community meeting on Sept. 11, but it turned into a disaster.
Last Ditch’s remaining owner, Jackie Matellian, broke down in tears at the volatile meeting, whining that she was the last of her friends in charge of the bar, was burdened by a business loan, and forced to live in a car just to make bar payments.
“We have put our lives on hold to foster networks of care, resources, and a home base for organizing,” Last Ditch bar wrote Monday. “It’s time we pass it on.”
