While many people take the time to show their allyship during Pride month, LGBT-run and LGBTQ-friendly businesses work year-round to make our city a better place. By supporting these entrepreneurs and businesses, you can help keep Pride celebrations alive, fund life-saving organizations and lobby for LGBTQ-affirming laws.

From bars and restaurants to bathhouses and self-defense centers, the city has long been home to a wide range of queer-owned businesses. These curated sites, most now closed or relocated, are reminders of the city’s rich LGBTQ history and the role business owners played in creating welcoming spaces for their communities.

Gay-owned and -friendly business: Craig Rodwell, owner of the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop, with his staff outside 15 Christopher Street (cropped), June 1983. Photograph from the Craig Rodwell Papers, Manuscripts and Archives Division, New York Public Library.

A few years ago, entrepreneur Ji-Hae Byun, who identifies as Queer Korean American, ditched the world of finance to start Livin Plant Design and Plant Care. Byun believes plants are a healing tool for the community and hope to create a space where people can feel at home and comfortable coming out.

Located on the Lower East Side, Hags is an American fine dining restaurant that’s billed as “by queer people for everyone,” serving dishes like uni with sour cream and onion and a foot-long hot LGBT friendlybusinesses near me dog made of carrot. While the food is delicious, it’s almost a secondary consideration at this small, cozy eatery that prioritizes inclusivity over exclusivity.

Dyke Beer is a New York-based brewery that creates and markets a line of IPA, pale ale and seasonal brews. The beer and brand celebrates the diversity of the LGBTQIA2S+ community and supports local queer-themed projects and events. The company also partners with various LGBTQIA2S+ organizations and charities to help spread the word about their mission.

While most companies sell clothing in sizes XS and up, Brooklyn-based PlusThriftJC is an online boutique that specializes in plus size women’s clothing. The shop’s goal is to empower and uplift women of all shapes and sizes. Its merchandise includes everything from T-shirts and hoodies to jewelry and accessories. The shop also offers a variety of thoughtful collaboration items, including the I Love You ASL patch with Gregor Lopes and inclusive LGBTQIA+ pride enamel pins.

New York City is full of diverse LGBTQIA2S-owned businesses and spaces, but finding them can be difficult. Luckily, an app called Everywhere Is Queer can help. The free resource, which is available for Apple and Android phones, allows users to search for LGBTQ-owned businesses near them. It also features a list of current events, meet-up groups and training.

The app is currently only available in the United States, but Sprinkman says he hopes to expand it internationally. To be added to the list, a business must fill out an online form. It is free for individuals to use, but business premium packages run $60 a month and come with premium placement and the ability to host events on the app.