ABOVE: The Honey Pot, photo via the venue’s Facebook page.
TAMPA | The Honey Pot announced March 27 that the LGBTQ hotspot would not reopen in its current Ybor City location due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns and closures.
Billed as one of Ybor’s “hottest clubs with the hottest people,” Honey Pot served Tampa Bay’s LGBTQ community for more than 13 years. The venue is the longtime venture of Ernie Webb, Steve Donahue and Stephen Moss, the trio behind The Florida Entertainment Group.
In addition to the Honey Pot, the group was responsible for Ybor’s G. Bar and St. Petersburg’s G St Pete. While the space reopened intermittently over the last year, it was unable to do so sustainably – most recently closing over restrictions on dance floors in Hillsborough County.
“Hello Friends! Despite our best attempts and hopes of reopening at our current location, the mounting expenses of maintaining the business while shut down without income for months has made it impossible to recover financially,” Honey Pot shared via social media March 27.
“Unfortunately, that means that Honey Pot will not be returning to Ybor,” they continued. “We are currently looking at other opportunities and hope to be back with a new venue shortly along with many more years of fun, parties, music & dancing! Stay tuned…”
View the post below:
Patrons past and present expressed their thanks for years of entertainment on the post, including Honey Pot’s longtime show director Amy DeMilo.
“Love you guys dearly,” the fan favorite performer wrote. “Thank You for all you’ve done for me personally, and for the community, Honey Pot was Epic! I will Miss it, but always cherish it!”
Watermark spoke with Honey Pot ownership and will share any additional information as it is made available. Keep an eye on their Facebook page for future updates.
