Even if people are often meeting through different means now, online initially now, they typically agree to meet in person for the first time somewhere they'll feel comfortable. Not every gay couple is going to head for Church Street or other scattered businesses that identify as catering specifically to LGTBQ+ clientele, but lots of queer couples will. It is development pressure that is closing these places and which triggered the first post about this. Like most businesses, those serving the LGBTQ+ community are in leased premises, and when the building owners either sell to a developer or redevelop on their own, whoever is facing the sidewalk is gone. You framed this in a way that indicated you were wondering whether—as your older, established gay friends had moved out of the neighbourhood—maybe therefore the whole community was going and there was a corresponding drop in demand for such businesses. That seemed a tad ludicrous and still does.
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