Not everybody wants velvet ropes, shirtless men and a circuit DJ. Some of y'all just want a queer bar. And Atlanta has that too. Mary's is in East Atlanta Village because of course Mary's is in East Atlanta Village. It opened in 1998 and has spent nearly three decades occupying a different lane from the bigger Midtown gay bars. It's smaller, alternative, neighborhood-driven and deliberately less polished. A recent local profile describes Mary's as one of Atlanta's enduring queer nightlife institutions, surviving dramatic changes in both LGBTQ+ nightlife and East Atlanta Village around it. That's precisely the appeal.

Come for karaoke. Come for DJs. Come dance. Come have a drink. Come dressed like you spent two hours getting ready. Come dressed like you absolutely did not. Nobody needs the explanation. Mary's also helps us make an important distinction between gay nightlife and queer nightlife. Those worlds overlap, obviously. But the traveler who feels completely at home at The Heretic may not be the traveler looking for Mary's. And vice versa.

Mary's tends to make more sense for the person looking for something alternative, mixed and less attached to the traditional gay-club aesthetic. It's East Atlanta. A little weird is the assignment.