WATERLOO — In a thriving city that is so progressive, it is "absurd" that Waterloo doesn't have a gay bar, Rami Said says.

So along with his friend and business partner, Devon McKenzie, he set out to open one himself.

"There is a very large group of LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and queer) in the community," he said. McKenzie agreed. They want to create a space for everyone to come together and feel accepted — LGBTQ and straight alike.

The Order at 56 King St. N. in uptown Waterloo is undergoing final touches and Said hopes it will be open in a week or two.

Said is someone who is active within the LGBTQ community and he felt there was a lack of inclusive spaces in Waterloo.

"It's very neat to be opening a new type of club that really brings out a different part of the community," said co-owner McKenzie, who also own Night School, a club in the same building.

Said and McKenzie plan to rotate themes and provide a variety of music. But their main goal is inclusivity and making sure patrons feel secure and comfortable.

If you feel belittled, pushed around or just uncomfortable somewhere else, you are welcome there, Said added.

In the absence of Renaissance, a gay bar in downtown Kitchener which shut down last year, there is only one other gay bar in the entire region, Sizzle in Cambridge.

"Because they [LGBTQ] are a smaller group," Said added, "they are ignored… their needs are not being met."

He pointed to the several popular bars many in the LGBTQ community frequently visit and said that there can be times when individuals feel insecure or uncomfortable.

"Even though Waterloo is a lot more advanced in the way we treat each other, there will be people that are less comfortable or people that do get harassed sometimes," Said told The Record.

The Order was originally scheduled to open in August 2013, but the roof of the building at 56 King St. N. collapsed, shutting down neighbouring businesses and halting progress.

But Said saw it as a blessing. It gave them an opportunity to plan more effectively.

The bar's name is derived from The Order of Chaeronea, a secret society in the late 1800s for homosexual men to freely communicate and be themselves.

"We wanted to find a name that resembled the community in some way," he said. "They focused on educating everybody and trying to build that unity."

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Said added that with two major universities in the city there should be a space where LGBTQ students can also feel comfortable.

"There are people who come to Waterloo who actually tend to learn about their sexuality when they go to university," he added. "It's a very common thing."