Last week, the oldest LGBTQ+ bar in Texas , Robert’s Lafitte, was warned it could be shut down in 30 days unless it made thousands of dollars in repairs.

That would be a devastating hit to the queer community in its hometown of Galveston , according to Terry Michael Fuller, who coordinates special events and bartends at Robert’s.

“It’s like our second home,” he told The Independent . “It’s our safe place.”

In that time, the bar, a few blocks from Galveston’s oceanside Pleasure Pier, has been with its patrons through everything, Fuller said, from hurricanes to the AIDS epidemic. During Covid , Robert’s helped distribute food baskets to patrons and community members.

The bar, which first opened under the name Lafitte’s in 1965, has always served a variety of people, Fuller added.

Robert’s Lafitte, the oldest LGBTQ+ bar in Texas, could go under in weeks unless it raises thousands of dollars for repairs (Google Street View)

“It’s always a mixed crowd there,” he said. “Straight, gay, transgender, bisexual.…