Rumour has it they might be closing

A rumour is going around, and it’s more complex than one may think. 

At the end of August, Rumours Lounge and Cabaret, an LGBTQ+-owned bar, announced they had two months to secure a new lease and needed auxiliary funding. Without it, the bar faces potential closure at the end of October. 

Gerald McCowan, the co-owner of Rumours, says their landlord, Waterford Development, wants to raise rent by at least $3,000. The lease on Rumours’ Lower Water Street location runs until Oct. 31. Come November, Rumours’ fate is unclear. 

“It’s really hard to have a community when you don’t have a space to gather,” says McCowan. 

Their unsigned November lease would raise costs exponentially, bringing their monthly operating costs to almost $20,000. 

McCowan says that even if they sign the new lease, they could stay open for two more years in their current location because Waterford Developments wants to eventually tear down the block Rumours occupies to build condos. 

The Dalhousie Gazette reached out multiple times to phone numbers listed for Waterford Developments, but did not receive a response by the time of publication. 

The Lower Water Street building has an incomplete demolition permit application that was submitted on Jan. 8. 

To help ease the costs of the new lease, Rumours released a GoFundMe on Sept. 8, asking for $18,000 to “keep Rumours alive,” they said in a Facebook post. 

After raising about $8,500, McCowan closed the GoFundMe because of community backlash. 

“With social media today … one person says something … then everybody chimes in on the same thing,” says McCowan. 

He says that if Rumours doesn’t survive, the money will go to a charity of their choice. 

This is not Rumours’ first financial scare, as cuts to costs and staff have accumulated over the years. McCowan says he had never run a bar before he and his husband opened Rumours in 2024. 

“We’re getting better at it. Managing better and keeping our expenses down,” says McCowan. 

It’s all about community

The bar is unprofitable for owners McCowan and José Chiu. McCowan pays the bills through a settlement from the Canadian military after anti-gay harassment he experienced during his service. His husband, Chiu, works 40 hours a week and makes minimum wage for half of his working hours.

“People don’t understand why we were doing it in the first place,” says McCowan. “They just thought that this bar is all about profit … It’s about community and keeping the community together.”

Jonethan Brigley, co-owner of Heart Collective, a queer community social group in Halifax, has hosted events at Rumours since November of last year. If Rumours shuts down, Brigley says he may have to pause his events.

“[Rumours] has provided a lot of resources. It would be very hard to find another venue.” 

The Heart Collective does not make any profit and relies on donations, meaning having an accessible and comfortable budget-friendly space is important for their events.  

“I don’t like charging anything at the door and [Rumours] was one of the few [locations] that I’ve ever discovered that are like, ‘We’re okay with that,’” says Brigley. 

The Canadian Queer Chamber of Commerce accredits Rumours as one of just over 500 safe spaces for LGBTQ+ customers in the country. 

“It’s not too often that you have a gay couple running a gay bar that’s focused on community and does the best to provide a safe space for them,” says Brigley. 

Sasha Stephen, who runs Trans Tuesdays at Rumours, says McCowan and Chiu wanted to create a space for transgender folk to gather and feel comfortable. 

“What we have done with Trans Tuesday and all of the other trans events that I’m a part of throughout the city has changed what it means to be trans in Halifax,” says Stephen. 

Events like Trans Tuesday and the Heart Collective’s karaoke nights would likely cease to exist if Rumours closes.  

“Rumours means so much to everyone. It would be really hard to try to rebuild [if they closed],” says Stephen. 

McCowan and Chiu hope to sign a new lease, believing it’s important to keep Rumours alive for Halifax’s LGBTQ+ community.