Robert “Tish” Muise, the manager of Fran’s Place, stands in front of the soon-to-be-closing bar. Item Photo by Owen O’Rourke
By Bridget Turcotte
LYNN — Fran’s Place, the state’s oldest gay bar, will close at the end of the month.
“Everybody used to call Fran’s Place the Cheers of the North Shore,” said owner Jay Collins.
It was the first bar to enter a float in Boston’s gay pride parade, the first to start a fundraiser for AIDS, and among the first to host gay weddings in the state, he said.
“The hardest part for me is that in 34 years, I’ve gotten to know a lot of people,” said Robert “Tish” Muise, the bar’s manager and oldest employee. “I have a great group of employees. It’s emotional.”
Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy, who has known Muise for 30 years, called it “the end of an era.”
“Not only has Fran’s been a very welcoming place to everyone in the community but it is one of the last good dance clubs on the North Shore,” she said.
Kennedy first went to the club with her friends, who were gay, when it was still known exclusively as a gay bar. Muise stuck by her and made her feel comfortable to have fun with her friends, without worrying about getting involved with anyone.
“I will miss it and I hope that somehow, someway it will be able to be revived in the city of Lynn,” she said.
The property will be sold for an undisclosed amount by the end of the month. While details of the sale are uncertain, Muise has been told the upper floors of the building will be turned into apartments. Collins declined to name the buyer
Collin’s grandfather, John, first opened the business as a tavern around the 1920s. While he has been unable to find anything documenting the exact year or location, he knows it was located somewhere in the city.
“I remember my father distinctly saying it was there before and after prohibition,” he said.
In 1940, It was passed on to his parents, Fran and Robert. It reopened as The Lighthouse Cafe at its current Washington Street location. When Robert Collins died in 1975, his wife and children took over the business, calling it Fran’s Place.
A bowling alley next door, King’s Lynn Lanes, attracted ladies from a women’s bowling league to stop in for drinks. Many of the women were gay, Collins said.
“My mother treated them nice,” he said. “At first I don’t think she was even sure they were gay. They started inviting some of their male friends and they would all be dancing. Then we knew. They were always nice people and my parents respected them. That crowd dominated the straight crowd and it got bigger and bigger until it was known as a gay bar.”
Fran’s quickly became a haven for many people who had a hard time finding a place to be themselves.
“Fran’s Place has been like home,” said Muise, who started doing drag shows at the bar in 1982. “It really is a home for us. Before gay marriage and equal rights came about, on holidays when you would typically go home to your birth family, many people were not accepted by their families and would come to Fran’s.”
Muise has advocated for the LGBT community for decades, he said.
“I feel like we made so many accomplishment for the gay community,” Collins said. “When we took this over in 1976, there were no gay rights. We went through just as many hardships as some of my customers did with the abuse.”
The building fell victim to vandalism and arson. When regulations changed to require smokers to go outside, people driving by would yell hateful things and throw eggs at customers, Muise said.
But as society became more accepting of the LGBT community, Fran’s place became popular with the community as a whole. It’s known for holding fundraisers and giving back to the city.
Each year the bar raises money for AIDS treatment and research. After a hate crime committed at Pulse Orlando killed 49 people and critically wounded 53, Fran’s Place raised money to send to the Florida nightclub.
A farewell party will be held next Saturday, Sept. 24 to thank the customers, Muise said. The event will run from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. and will feature a variety show and food.
Bridget Turcotte can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @BridgetTurcotte.
