Verse's owner Michael Repp said people were ready to visit the bar, and some 1,600 supportive patrons, anxious for a “safe space” for LGBTQ+ customers, checked it out. “It was chaotic, fun and stressful,” Repp said of opening night.
Verse, run by former managers of The Sun Trapp, aims to be a ‘safe space’ for Utah’s queer community.
Owner Michael Repp said people were ready to visit the bar, and some 1,600 supportive patrons, anxious for a “safe space” for LGBTQ+ customers, checked it out.. “It was something that we had forgotten about the nightlife scene since we hadn’t been in it for 10 months. But now, it ignited again: Why we do what we do for the queer community here in Salt Lake is really important.
As a sign of the community’s support, Repp and Katoa noted that Verse, while still under construction and before it got its liquor license, threw a “midtown Pride block party” in June, during Pride month, and some 6,000 people showed up. Preparing the space to get Verse up and running, Repp said, has been “the most stressful thing I’ve ever done.”
Another frustration was the time spent waiting through the process “when you have thousands of people that depend on you for a safe space,” Repp said. “It was an experience of where do we house people? What do we do, how can we still be relevant in this construction? … Those setbacks alone were so frustrating and emotional because all you see is that your goal was going away. The safe space is going away, your friends are struggling.” Artwork at Verse in Salt Lake City, Friday, Nov. 4, 2022.
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