It was all brick, so people sat around in the dark. “Again in ‘04, when I first got here there were no windows in the front of the building. Photo by Ally SchnaidtĪnd that work is especially apparent in its facade. “It’s like Cheers in here.”Īnd while a lot has remained the same since Halford took over a decade ago-particularly in terms of the bar’s sense of community and warm atmosphere-if you were a patron back in the early days (or even before that), you’d likely notice that the bar has actually undergone quite the physical transformation from its previous (in Halford’s words) “dive” status. “We call it a home bar,” said Aaron Crater, who has tended bar at Tremont since 2012. They also know everybody’s business too, but that’s part of it as well,” he said with a laugh. We have so many regulars that come here that know each other. One of the reasons for this, according to Halford, is the atmosphere he and his small group of loyal staff work hard to cultivate. Founded in 1987, Tremont Lounge quickly established itself as one of the city’s cornerstone gay bars, becoming a spot for friends to mingle and a haven for the LGBTQ community.
