Butterfly Bar
Making a Niche
By Mikee dela Cruz

CREATING A MARKET For a while, gay Metro Manila was focused in the City of Manila - that is, for Quezon City, until the likes of Butterfly Bar fortunately invaded the scene.

“There are a lot of gay-friendly establishments out there, so it's a challenge making a niche,” says Onassis Yumul of the (yet again refurbished, if not actually re-overhauled) Butterfly Bar (BB), along Tomas Morato in Quezon City.  “But, slowly, we're making our own buzz, (allowing us to form) our own client base of loyal patrons.”

And so it is with not so much as fanfare, but slow entry into the mindset, that BB is making its name as the must-visit gay venue in these parts of Metro Manila.

DAINTY, BUT PROUD

Described by bloggers online (the venue doesn’t self-promote, actually, except for events postings in Guys4Men.com, among others), BB is said to be a “cozy gay-owned hangout, where everybody gets to know everybody.  You don't have to be somebody else, just come as you are.  No hang-ups here.  Dress up or dress down.  Social connections here are on a friendship basis.”  And while somewhat incoherent, the point is obvious – here’s a venue for those without pretensions, guaranteeing fun times to be had.

Interestingly, BB has been in existence for over eight years now.

“We're actually the fourth generation of owners, (with) the current owners (being) Raul Bumanglag, Raymond Cerbas, Buddy Petines, Leonard Salvador, and yours truly,” Yumul says.  Despite the changing of hands, however, BB has always been focused on providing a venue for fun hanging out, as “when we took over, we wanted to put up a friendly bar, where people could relax and just hang.”

This is deemed important for a community (the GLBTQI) that is, by and large, still lacking gay spaces.  Even more so in places like Quezon City, where more traditional gay venues abound, and “chilling out venues continue to remain few.”

GAY SPECIFIC

Going gay was easy for BB.  “It was a conscious decision (to cater to this market, specifically, in) a way because the owners are all of the GLBTQI persuasion, and, thus, most of our friends are, too,” Yumul says.  More than an impromptu market for BB, however, BB sees their contacts, including those who are discovering BB, as co-campaigners in the need to create – and provide – gay spaces.  “(Our) market is slowly, but surely, getting to know us, and getting to feel (BB) as a second home.”

Thus, “BB is not a pick-up place.  If (picking-up) happens in our bar, well and good, but that isn't our primary motivation for the (it).  Because of this (the lack to prance to be picked-up), people don't have to be always on the edge or extremely self-conscious, so people (coming to BB) can just relax and be themselves,” Yumul says.

This is also why BB also features art exhibits, movie nights, et cetera – events beyond the usual weekend dance parties, as it tries to expand its market.  So, really, “it's just an extended family that keeps on growing,” Yumul ends.