Surfers Paradise gay and lesbian bar owners open early to mark support for same-sex weddings

NEW owners of dedicated Surfers Paradise gay bar Rise were getting ready to raise the roof last night, opening early after Australia voted yes.

GOLD Coast’s only dedicated gay and lesbian nightclub and bar was last night building up for a major party celebrating the country’s support for same-sex marriage.

Rise nightclub down the beach end of Cavill Mall in Surfers Paradise opened four hours earlier than normal at 5pm to mark the historic yes vote.

New Surfers Paradise gay-friendly bar Rise opened four hours earlier last night to celebrate the country voting yes to same-sex marriage - getting ready to celebrate is new Rise bar owner Clinton Maxwell (left), Dame Martini Fernando Ice, Brock Thorp and Carmelo Munzone. Photo: Richard Gosling

By 6pm patrons had started filling the first-floor venue which was formerly known as gay-friendly Escape.

New owners Clinton Maxwell and Julian Kuters, who bought the venue from Escape owner Steven Ritchardson in July, are celebrating the yes vote personally but also believe it will be a winner for their new business venture.

The pair have invested $20,000 in a bar revamp so far and have positioned the venue to be able to host wedding functions too.

Rise bar and Gold Coast drag queen Dame Martini Fernando Ice. Photo: Richard Gosling

“The yes vote is something we have been waiting years for,” Mr Maxwell said yesterday. “But in a business sense it is also a massive win for us.”

Mr Maxwell said he’d had a ring on his finger for 14 years and considered himself married regardless of the law, but being able to sign a piece of paper legalising it would give him and his partner “peace of mind”.

The Rise owners, who originally hail from Sydney but have been based on the Coast for years, are investing in live music acts along with regular karaoke nights and drag queen shows.

They are also firing up the venue’s commercial kitchen and plan to open for lunches in about a month.

Mr Maxwell said while he would describe Rise as a gay and lesbian club it was “open to everybody”, five nights a week, Wednesday to Sunday.

Rise performer and karaoke host Carmelo Munzone said the new ownership of the venue was being embraced by the city’s gay and lesbian community.