VIEW MORE PHOTOS | Grand Opening Celebration @ Cockpit
Atlanta’s newest gay bar, Cockpit, took flight last weekend, taking not one but three days to celebrate its grand opening and becoming one of just a handful of LGBT bars south of Interstate 20.
A packed crowd was on hand Friday for the start of the Grand Opening Celebration for an evening of bar tab giveaways, members of the MISTER program of Positive Impact dishing out their safe-sex packets, David magazine handing out event tickets and DJ Diablo Rojo bringing in the tunes. Patrons also enjoyed a secluded patio where they puffed away; the latest entry to the local gay nightlife scene offers a smoke-free interior.
Cockpit sits in a tight commercial strip on Boulevard next to a fire station. Patrons enjoy a 1,900-square-foot space that offers a mix of rustic and industrial that features a large bar in its center made of reclaimed wood from a mill in North Carolina where owner Michael Winfield once owned a bed and breakfast. Winfield (bottom photo right) spent most of his Friday evening behind it, helping his bartenders serve a seemingly endless supply of cocktails.
Opening weekend also included visits from gay sports teams in Atlanta, including a Sunday beer bust with the Atlanta Bucks Rugby Football Club. Another measure of the bar’s opening weekend success? Cockpit made the “Missed Connections” section of Craigslist Atlanta.
