'Be happy, be kind': Arch and Column Pub to mark 20-year anniversary serving LGBTQ community
Pitt Potter, owner of Arch and Column Pub in Columbia, received the stamp of approval on his liquor license on Dec. 30, 2002.
After a marathon of getting the bar ready, aided by his friend Carl Baysinger and many others, Potter opened doors to the watering hole-style establishment for the region's LGBTQ community the following day on New Year's Eve 2002.
"It was a community effort to get the place open," Potter said. "We called up all the liquor distributors, who took all the orders and they were to us (for opening). It was wild. This place was two-thirds full with just a day's notice."
Part of getting the bar ready was installing a new drop ceiling and building bench and additional bar-height seating, which was done by Baysinger.
"Me being one of his best friends, I adore him and I know everybody else does when they come in. The heart is right there," he said, referring to Potter.
Potter's business has lasted for 20 years, the longest-running LGBTQ bar in Columbia, even weathering the COVID-19 pandemic.
So to celebrate the milestone, Arch and Column, often referred to as Arches by its patrons, will hold a Roaring 20s-themed anniversary and New Year's party starting at about 8 p.m. Dec. 31. It will be one of the few times Potter is not behind the bar serving drinks. Other staff will do the drink-slinging while Potter will be joined by his daughter Alyssa and sister, Nancy, whom he reconnected with last winter after 30 years.
Going into business
Potter had a background in tending bar and restaurants even before he went into business for himself. He had come to Columbia for a job that would dry up and was looking for something else or he would have returned to California.
The location of Arch and Column at 1301 Business Loop 70 E was a Taco Tico before changing hands and restaurant styles a variety of times before Potter took it on, transforming it into the LGBTQ bar it is today.
"The last people that had ownership of it, disappeared into the night. They just closed the doors and left town," Potter said, who frequented the location as it was nearby to where he lived at the time. "... To me, it was a good decision because (the LGBTQ) community already was here every weekend and through the week."
While his then business partner Les Morrow kept the kitchen going for a bit, and Baysinger after that, Potter would shut down the kitchen to focus on being just a bar.
The exterior facade was accentuated and because of the shapes in the facade, gave it the appearance of arches in a aqueduct, Potter said. So the intitial idea was to name the bar The Aqueduct as a nod to its watering hole status.
"We kind of pictured a couple columns next to (the Arch) so we just went with Arch and Column," Potter said. "We have the St. Louis Arch. Columbia is a city known for its columns. It worked."
Patrons come from throughout the region. Potter noted visitors and regulars from as far north as Kirksville and as far south as the Lake of the Ozarks, and parts in between.
The bar's philosophy
When Potter opened Arch and Column 20 years ago, opinions and visibility of the LGBTQ community were much different and people within that community needed safe spaces. At the time, this was SoCo Club and Arch and Column.
"The whole idea was for people to feel comfortable when they came in, no matter who they were. I tell people there are two rules in this world: to be happy and to be kind," Potter said, adding he likes being the safe haven for all orientations and gender identities. "I wasn't opening to be competition, but complementary."
SoCo served as the home of drag shows and was more of a nightclub atmosphere, while Arch and Column served as a place much like what was presented in the television series "Cheers" — the stalwart community watering hole with regulars and new patrons alike.
SoCo had to close due to owner health, and its eventual replacement in Yin Yang Nightclub also had to close because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Entertainers there would go on to establish Nclusion+, which focuses on entertainment and education, with shows traveling from place to place, rather than having an established location.
Arch and Column for many years put its focus on supporting AIDS research and support organizations via fundraisers, such as for Spectrum Health Care, which at the time was known was known as RAIN-Central Missouri. This transitioned to Trail to a Cure for a decade. Fundraisers for individuals to help cover health care costs still happen.
The staple entertainment at the bar are karaoke nights on Wednesdays and Saturdays and themed nights often take place, much like the Roaring 20s theme for the anniversary. Other themed events have included Christmas in July and a Toga Party, among many others.
The focus remains on maintaining Arch and Column as a safe and inclusive space.
"This is not just a bar. It is a community pub that is focused on being a place you can be yourself," Baysinger said. "That has been Pitt's main goal to keep it where everyone is comfortable."
Surviving COVID-19; looking at the future
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, restaurants and bars were among the hardest hit by required closures. Potter's business relationship with his landlord meant he weathered the storm.
He was able to forego paying rent for a few months and pared back his utilities with the city to the bare minimum electrical needs to run the alarm system. He also switched alarm services, resulting in lower costs as well.
Potter is looking at what he could do next. He owns the business, but he doesn't own the building. So he is starting to look at the feasibility of purchasing the building so that its history as a bar for the LGBTQ community can be maintained. His landlord already is aware Potter is exploring this possibility, he said.
"(The bar) is community-owned already. I might be the guy on the paper and on the hook for the rent, but it is community-owned," Potter said.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: LGBTQ bar Arch and Column Pub reaches 20-year anniversary
