Nicholas explained where the apartments will be built in relationship to the existing building, which has 7,800 square feet and a basement. The developer said the 6,098-square-foot lot is already zoned for multi-use, so the addition of six apartments won’t require rezoning. Mike Spilky of Location Matters handled the sale and Paul Ahern of Location Matters will oversee the leasing of the cocktail lounge. The seller’s brokerage firm, Location Matters of Del Mar, stated in a news release that Duenas had operated The Flame since 2008. The Flame changed ownership again in 2010.” It changes ownership twenty years later, after being purchased by the owners of Numbers, a watering hole across the street. “ 1984 - The Flame, an old supper club on Park Blvd (named after a fire destroyed the first restaurant, The Garden of Allah), reopens as a lesbian bar. The “Hillcrest History Timeline” published on HillQuest’s website offers this tidbit about the old nightclub: “If it is designated as historic, I would love to have it acknowledged on the building.” “There is currently a study being done to see if it is, in fact, historic,” he said. Nicholas said The Flame building has never been designated as historical. Members of the LGBT community have been worried about saving buildings that have historical significance. “It will stay on the building and get restored to its former glory,” he vowed. Nicholas said he plans to “restore the façade” of the vintage building and keep the iconic sign. The exterior of the iconic nightclub, The Flame, on Park Boulevard (Courtesy of Location Matters) from seller Donny Duenas for $1.9 million, told San Diego Uptown News that he will be turning the single-story structure into a multi-use project by adding six apartments and a central courtyard. James Nicholas of Clownfish Partners, who bought the vacant property at 3780 Park Blvd. Thursday, July 5 on KPBS2.The Flame - a landmark lesbian bar that opened in 1984, and then changed hands 20 years later - was sold this week to a Hillcrest developer. “San Diego’s Gay Bar History” premieres Thursday, June 14 at 9 p.m. They still have to have places where they are safe and where there are other people like them.” “There are a lot of people who can’t assimilate, especially transgender kids. “If you are too femme as a guy or too butchy as a girl, you are still not going to be comfortable,” filmmaker Detwiler said. The history of San Diego’s gay bars may still have a few chapters to go.
![the flame gay bar san diego the flame gay bar san diego](https://www.sandiego.org/-/media/images/sdta-site/articles/bars/757x545/nolen-727x545.jpg)
Just because the mainstream bar scene is more welcoming than it used to be doesn’t mean everyone feels welcome there.
![the flame gay bar san diego the flame gay bar san diego](https://sloppy.gaymapper.com/pictures/3011.jpeg)
For some members of the community, havens are still important. In the documentary, Numbers owner Nick Moede chalks it up to a changing market, where LGBTQ people feel more widely accepted, and having their own space isn’t as important as it used to be. September of 2017 marked the closing of Numbers, a bar on the edge of Hillcrest that had been the home of Pride parties, drag shows and the Club Sabbat goth night. The documentary ends with a long goodbye and a lingering debate. “It was a difficult time, but it was a time when the community rose to the occasion.” “It was a nonstop 24/7 battle for seven or eight years,” says Susan Jester, founder of the San Diego AIDS Walk.