Safe. Secure. But an awful lot of fun.

It’s the mantra manager Vanessa Lewis hopes her new bar, Lakeside Upper Deck, can live by as it caters to Barrie’s LGBTQ+ community. The business, which hosts its grand opening Sept. 14 and 15, is the first such bar to operate in the city in quite a while — the last ones, The Spot and Club C'est La Vie, closed years ago.

“I used to frequent C'est La Vie and The Spot,” she said. “I wanted to have that for the community (again). I really missed having somewhere to go to meet people and socialize and feel welcomed and accepted. It’s really important for people to feel safe and accepted and comfortable. They can express themselves and we support that. We just want people to feel like they can relax and have fun.”

Lewis believes this bar can succeed for several reasons. It’s in a prime location in the downtown core, and understanding and awareness of LGBTQ+ rights has increased substantially within the city in recent years.

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Bartender Amber Parker agrees.

“We’re already getting thanked for having this place open,” she said.

The bar almost didn't open. When the new property owners took over recently, they had plans to put a bar and grill on the main floor and build apartments on the second level.

“They were going to gut it,” she said, noting a friend pitched the idea to the owners.

But Lewis knows there is some contempt for the bar being expressed by a handful of residents. A petition circulating on the website Change.org calls for the closure of Lakeside because it is, in the words of the petition’s author, “immoral, goes against (peoples’) religious beliefs as well as downtown Barrie at (2 a.m.) is not a place where this is going to be accepted by drunk immature people. This is a safety concern and should be removed from downtown Barrie immediately.”

The author, who goes by the name Jessie Michelle on the document, made the statement in the petition's preamble. She also said a group will protest the opening this weekend. Michelle could not be reached for an interview.