"A club like JR's is so important for gay youth because they don't have many other safe social places to meet," said Mike Glatze, managing editor of XY, a San Francisco- based national magazine for gay youth. While Club Faith is likely to see more business, it's unclear where the hundreds of gay youth who come to JR's will turn. It was really important in my coming out, and I feel bad for a lot of the younger people who don't have fake IDs and can't get into 21-and-up clubs. It was the only place where I could come and meet other gay people. "I can't believe this place is closing," Allen said. Monica Wilson of San Jose and Cherie Allen of Castro Valley, both 19, met each other last summer at JR's and have been dating since. "But this place is really cool, and I've met a lot of great people tonight." "It's just my luck that I would finally come here just on the last weekend before it closes," he said. One 16-year-old Moraga boy, who asked not to be identified ("I'd hate for my parents to learn that their son is gay over their morning breakfast," he said) had wanted to come to JR's since he was 14. Some under 18 would come weekly to JR's, content to sit outside and talk.
Every week, they came from as far away as Sacramento, Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz. HAVEN FOR TEENAGERSįor many young gays and lesbians, JR's was the only place where they could meet large numbers of other gay teenagers. Currently, the only other one in the Bay Area allowing patrons as young as 18 is San Francisco's Club Faith (Thursday nights at 715 Harrison St.).
It was a festive, nostalgic last weekend of partying at JR's, which has lasted while other 18-and-up Bay Area gay clubs have come and gone. "It really offered a sense of security for our clientele, and we had very few instances of homophobia from outsiders, because many straight people in the area didn't even know we were here," Bernetti said. The club's friendly atmosphere and out-of-the-way location (in a business park along Highway 24, near the 680 junction) was one of its drawing points. It was the perfect location, because of the privacy it allowed." "But we've secured a great new location, and in that way, it's a rebirth. "Losing a lease and having to close is in a way like losing a child," Bernetti said. The good news is that club owner Marisa Bernetti said that she has secured another Walnut Creek location (she won't say where), but that it won't be ready for three to six months.