A safe space in Uptown for everyone

You might call the opening of Minnesota’s first-ever center for the LGBTQ+ community, a “divine alignment.”
That’s how Seth Anderson-Matz, Queermunity’s Outreach & Partnerships Manager, describes a combination of a great location, a good lease and an opportunity to fill a community need came together to create the new Uptown center that opened to the public Nov. 9, 2024.
“It’s awesome. It’s much needed,” said Sarah Dietrich from Minneapolis who attended the Nov. 9 open house. “I think a lot of people have waited for this for a long time.”
According to Anderson-Matz, co-founders Kayla Barth and Hilary Otey settled on the site of a former ad agency above Magers & Quinn in May.
“We’ve been looking for a couple years,” Otey said, adding that it was important for the center to have access to mass transit, accessible and gender-neutral bathrooms, and an elevator to accommodate anyone needing one.
Notably, Queermunity is a “dot com” and not a “dot org.” Barth and Otey said they decided against the non-profit route because it can be too limiting for the vision they share for the new center.
“Hilary devoted a year, meeting with people who have been a part of previous attempts in making [a center like this] happen,” Barth said, adding that it can be difficult to succeed because many non-profits compete for the same grant money. “You are all fighting for this very small pot.”
Instead, the center follows a socially-conscious business model that relies on memberships and other revenue streams to fund its programs and events and to pay its 12-person staff. One of those streams is the Queermunity Café.
James Beard-nominated chef June De runs the full-service restaurant, designing a menu that is sustainable, accessible and affordable.
“Making a space where anyone can come in and get food is really important and valuable to me,” De said. “So, keeping our menu affordable while utilizing and squeezing the most out of one ingredient as we can for everything is really valuable.” The café will offer wine in December.
One critical goal of Queermunity is providing a safe space for members of the LGBTQ+ community, especially folks who come to Minnesota seeking an affirming environment for their trans children or themselves.
“We also imagine we’ll be a landing place for visitors, travelers coming to the area and for this enormous transplant population that we’re seeing with all of these laws passing in all of our neighboring states,” Anderson-Matz said.
The 11,000-square-foot location is expansive with a bright, open concept offering plenty of couches and chairs for sitting as well as a small library, courtesy of Quatrefoil Library, rooms for ping-pong, arts and crafts, an art gallery and a food pantry.
“This space is perfect,” said Tessa Ikala, who with her partner and child, attended the center’s open house. “We’re really excited and hopeful.”
“We want it to be a multi-generational space. We want it to be a multi-cultural space. We want it be a multi-dimensional space,” Anderson-Matz said.
While the goal is to increase memberships to support the many programs offered, a visitor does not have to be a member, he said.
“We’re hoping that this is a place for everyone to come.” Otey said. ”We’re really in touch with creating those opportunities.”
“Now more than ever we need each other,” Minneapolis resident Carly Evans said. “This space will make possible many connections across the city and the country.”
Queermunity is open daily from 8 a.m to 8 p.m.