After a 44-year run, Asheville’s legendary Scandals Nightclub is shutting the doors at its current downtown location.
Since 1982, the club had existed as a part of an historic building located at 1924 11 Grove Street, together with the Nightclub 11 on Grove and the live music venue The Boiler Room, all as a part of Grove House Entertainment Co. Founded by Art Fryar, a community organizer, classical dancer, entrepreneur, and drag artist, Scandals had been a safe haven for LGBTQ patrons throughout its lifetime. The night club played host to a number of events, from dance parties to drag shows, benefits for non-profits, and a center for political involvement.
In the early ’80s, during a time of fear and widespread social stigma due to the AIDS epidemic, Scandals stood as one of the few gay-friendly safe spaces in the small mountain town. These days the town is much more of a city and has an abundance of queer spots supportive to the community.
“During that time, a lot of queer folks were just constantly carrying fear and hiding themselves and as soon as you walked in that door, you got to drop it,” Joanna Knowles, a former Scandals bartender, said in an interview with National Public Radio. “To celebrate ourselves and to celebrate each other.”
“In a world where much of society was saying, ‘You’re dirty, You’re disgusting,’ Art was saying, ‘You’re gorgeous. Here’s a spotlight’,” she recalled. “When things were scary and hard, he said, ‘Hey, let’s dance.’”
Knowles also remembered times in which Fryar, before his passing, would shift the club from a place of entertainment to one of invoking activism.
“He really activated queer folks,” Knowles said. “When he was running the club, we voted in droves. It’s the first time I as a young person realized that politicians work for us and that we have power and that we have a responsibility to each other to get informed and to show up.”
Thankfully, Scandals itself doesn’t yet seem content to remain within the annals of history. In a post from the club’s Facebook, the owners explained the reasoning for the closure, along with the next moves for Scandals.
“The current landlord prefers that only one tenant occupy the entire property, and the 22,000-square-foot, four-story building is more space than our business presently requires,” the post reads. “We are actively scouting out venue spaces for Scandals Nightclub to make its grand return!”