Its proprietors reopened the place a year or so later after restoring the antique-heavy and memorabilia-laden décor of its signature kitschy digs to how things looked before, including the seven-foot plaster rooster statue (insert jokes here, if you must). We're talking recessions, the fickleness of LGBT crowds, and even a massive fire that completely wiped out its interior in 2010. This East Phoenix gay bar landmark and grand dame of the scene first opened near the equally historic Tovrea Castle in 1971 and has survived a lot of drama throughout its four-decade lifespan. Nu-Towne Saloon is sort of a scrappy place, and we're not saying that because of all the rough trade that stops by.
