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The AfterEllen.com Huddle: Our Favorite Lesbian/Bi Owned Businesses

In honor of the LezBiBuy this Saturday (tomorrow!), we’re sharing our favorite lesbian/bi/owned businesses.

Lucy Hallowell: Station 8 Salon in Jamaica Plain. My sister has been getting her hair cut by the owner, Pam, for years and it’s where I went a couple years ago when I was ready to trade my shoulder length locks for something from the Maddow collection.

Valerie Anne: Stonewall (EDITOR’S NOTE: A LEZBIBUY MEET-UP LOCATION!) karaoke is my jam. My friends and I go about once every other month, more if we can swing it. It’s very chill, fun, and always a little crazy. Every Friday, it’s 6-10 karaoke with two-for-one drinks, then at 10 it switches over to Lesboagogo which is just as much fun as it sounds. Plus is fun to say.

Jenna Duggan-Lykes: Wildfang’s existence has created an omnipresent struggle between my heart and my bank account.

Anna Pulley: Crash Pad Series. Queer adult filmmaking that revolutionized porn by Shine Louise Houston. (NSFW)

Ali Davis: I do love getting a drink (and some dinner) at Mud Hen in L.A. (EDITOR’S NOTE: A LEZBIBUY MEET-UP LOCATION!) Offer me a plate of their kaya toast and I’ll follow you around the world. I also covet the coolness of Lucky Dog Leather.

And it’s not really a business, but it’s an indie queer lady working on making money doing what she loves and I really like it: Go Get a Roomie is an always-evolving, everything-friendly indie web comic with regular appearances by everyone’s favorite guest, boobs. Diving right in may be confusing, but the beginning is right over here.

Chelsea Steiner: Wolfe Video, for all your lezzy artsy film needs! Essential for us pop culture queers. And for some alone time, Juicy Pink Box (NSFW) is a queer porn company run by queer women. It’s the FUBU of porn, basically.

Dana Piccoli: I, too ,love Wolfe Video. I buy all my lesbian DVDs and digital downloads from them, and have for years. They have the best selection available and even work to produce queer films. They are true pioneers, and will always have my business.

Kim Hoffman: Otherwild (EDITOR’S NOTE: A LEZBIBUY MEET-UP LOCATION!). So many rad designers and makers and artists come through Otherwild, and since I don’t live in L.A. I just stalk their website for new good on the reg.

Grace Chu: Annisa, restaurant owned by celebrity chef Anita Lo. The foie gras soup dumplings are to die for.

Trish Bendix: I love Hotel San Jose in Austin, Texas. Owned by Liz Lambert, the boutique bungalow-style hotel is a different kind of travel experience. Rarely do I want to stay at my hotel all day while traveling, but the San Jose is just so cool. It’s modern and minimalist but with a touch of chic Southern flair. There are poems tacked on walls and unique local goodies as part of the room’s snack offerings, and kimono robes hanging by the shower. There’s an outdoor lounge with cocktails and appetizers and the location is pretty perfect, next to Liz’s coffee shop, Jo’s, and in between galleries, shops and restaurants. What’s so cool is that the success of the hotel was partly what made the area so popular: South Congress was Skid Row when she bought the place in the mid-90s. After her success with renovating and recreation, Liz has opened three other hotels, which means I have three other places to visit immediately.

Dara Nai: If you’ve ever watched a gay couple search for the home of their dreams on House Hunters or House Hunters International, you can thank Pie Town Production, a lesbian-owned TV production company here in LA. Butch fashion and lesbian coffee are great but Pie Town shows gay and lesbian people with casual normalcy. We want what everyone else wants: a home of our own, a place for family, and an open floor plan.

Eboni Rafus: Grow, in Northampton, MA. is a community educational center with classes, services and products to support you through fertility, pregnancy, parenting and beyond. They have classes, workshops, group meetings and a retail store with products for pregnancy and birth, infants and young children. Grow also offers doula services, massage therapy and acupuncture. I particularly love that they have groups especially for LGBT families and single parents by choice. Grow is owned by Jodie Castanza, a birth doula, childbirth educator, lactation consultant and mother of two.

Please join us this Saturday, December 6th for the nationwide #LezBiBuy. Go out in your area and support lesbian/bi/queer owned businesses, and share where and what you did on social media. Hope to see you there!

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