Peacock Will Open in Old Crush Bar Space in Portland

Peacock is the name of a new dedicated queer bar in the old Crush Bar space. They hope to open in July 2025, but as of mid-July, it’s looking more like mid-August, according to my sources. I spoke to Aaron Grimmer, one of the persons behind the project, and here is what I learned from him.

First, Crush Bar

At the end of 2024, Crush Bar—one of the oldest LGBTQ+ bars in Portland—permanently closed its doors. It originally opened in 2001 and at the time served up “a relatively upscale wine list, a mostly vegan food menu and a casual neighborhood vibe,” according to The Oregonian. The Mercury described is as “one of Portland’s coziest, most queer-friendly bars.” You could go there, dance, sing, eat and drink (much of the food was vegan), enjoy burlesque, see a drag show—and more.

In 2020 they were forced to close (temporarily) because of COVID. The Crush Bar Workers Collective grew out of issues at the time going on between labor and management regarding pay, particularly about “sick time we’re legally entitled to receive in the event of a health emergency.” In 2023 the bar was at risk of closing but successfully dodged that bullet via a staff member investment.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t able to last. December 31, 2024 was Crush Bar’s final day of service.

Enter Peacock

Peacock is a project founded by Aaron Grimmer and a silent partner. You may know Aaron for his restaurant Picnic House that operated pre-COVID in the Heathman Hotel.

The Peacock team is made up of skilled industry veterans, many of which are queer. “We’re really excited that they’re excited about working with us!” exclaimed Aaron.

He also wanted to make it clear that while Peacock acknowledges that the Crush ideals are worth holding on to, it is not associated with Crush. “No one who originally worked at Crush are are involved in this project,” he said. Regardless, he respects their legacy and thinks what they did was amazing.

Aaron Grimmer

Aaron has been a longtime ally to the queer community, so this project is close to his heart. “This has become more of a personal thing for me to do as of late, and I’ve become more and more passionate about it,” he remarked. “This is something that means a lot to me.”

However, he said that while he is one of the founders and owns the business, he doesn’t want Peacock to become “The Aaron Grimmer Show.” He wants the bar to focus on the queer community. But he acknowledges that his role in telling the story of Peacock, at least right now, to media and the public can put the focus on him. So, think of him as a kind of point person for Peacock.

Name Origins and Location of Peacock

I wanted to know why they chose the name, “Peacock,” for the bar, and the reason is more straightforward than I expected. “It’s the name of the actual building,” explained Aaron. “It was built a little over a hundred years ago and used to be a bakery—they called it the Peacock Building. In fact, if you look at the building right on the corner of 14th and Morrison, there is a a big peacock emblem—a big round stone peacock emblem right above the doorway. And it’s really, really cool.”

He continued, “We’d been talking about and went through a bunch of different names. And ‘Peacock’ just felt right.”

As far as how they landed this location, his silent partner has a connection to the owners of the building, so that’s one reason it worked out.

The Need for Dedicated Queer Spaces

Aaron expressed that “dedicated queer spaces” are not the same as “queer friendly/accepting/welcoming spaces.” “Portland is a beautiful city, and most bars in Portland are queer friendly, queer accepting, queer welcoming,” he explained. “But there aren’t a ton of dedicated queer spaces. And in talking to the community—really talking to people—they’ve confirmed that it’s something that is needed.”

He continued, “And not just a bar, but an event space for different types of queer and trans focused events. We plan to do a lot of drag shows, comedy, live music and DJs, dancing, community-led events, and all things in between.”

A Safe Space

And along with Peacock being a dedicated queer space, emphasizing it as a safe and welcoming space—for the queer and trans community, and their allies—is paramount to Aaron and his team.

Everything they are trying to build at Peacock—menus, decor, pricing, vendors, and standard operating procedures for their staff—must satisfy the question: “Are we making this a safe and welcoming space for queer and trans folk?”

A Community Effort at Preparing Peacock

In getting Peacock up and running, Aaron invited members of the queer community to help—and it’s important to note that they are not asking for any kind of financial reward for their efforts. “We’re trying to do this in a way where we are community involved,” he explained. “And so we reached out to folks in the queer and trans community and asked for volunteers to help us clean up the old space—move things, paint things, build things. And, we’ve had regular volunteer groups come in every week—dozens of them!”

It all kind of blew Aaron away. “They come in and I’ve seen them do some of the hardest, dirtiest work,” he said. “Like cleaning out and cleaning up an old greasy kitchen—and they are smiling and excited about it. They thank us at the end, because they feel like we’re helping to build a space for them.”

The Space

I asked Aaron a bit about the space. “You know, those who went to Crush before will recognize echoes of the space,” he said. They’ve have no interesting in completely destroying everything that’s there, because, as he says, “Crush did a lot of things right,”

There will be a stage with a performing area; the bar will be in the front and there will be places for people to sit. There will be outdoor seating. And they plan to have regular programming in the back, too.

The Vibe

They want things to feel elevated but still very approachable—not a stuffy space, but a sexy space. And a fun space, where people can be free to celebrate who they are.

“And, you know, people who are coming from out of town and they’re looking for a designated queer space, they’ll find it there,” remarked Aaron. “And straight people that are looking for a fun bar, they’ll find it there, too.”

Aaron said that ultimately, as long as you are a kind and tolerant person, you are welcome there any time.

Food and Drink at Peacock

They’ll have a full bar: beer, wine, and cocktails. “We will have some signature drinks,” said Aaron. “And as far as the food, it’s not a huge menu, but a thoughtful one.”

As far as the price point goes, they want there to be value with options that are affordable. This fits in with their mission statement about being welcoming and and providing a safe space.

“Whether you’ve got $20 in your pocket or $200, you can come by and there will be something for you,” explained Aaron. “We want you to feel welcome and be part of the party. That’s important to us.”

Another part of the welcoming and safety mission is they want to have quality, thoughtful, nonalcoholic drink options, as well as vegan and gluten-free options. “We want to have offerings that fit a mix of dietary or sobriety needs, as well,” said Aaron.

Additionally, having staff dedicated to keeping a watchful and protective eye on the scene is very important to them. Alcohol can make inhibitions go away a little bit and they want to make sure that whoever’s coming in feel safe and comfortable in that environment.

Some Final Thoughts

Aaron said, “At the end of the day, it is rare for me to see such a kind of community-driven groundswell of support and excitement about a space being open.” Aligned with that, he and his staff feel a sense of responsibility to do right by the space, the community, and its patrons. “We don’t take that responsibility lightly,” he said.

He continued, “We really appreciate the support, the momentum, and hopefully the business that we’ll be getting when we’re open. And our goal and our duty I think is to execute on the promises that we’re setting and on the mission statement—in terms of our staffing, our programming, food and drink, and the way we run our business. And if we can do those things, then I really believe this will be a successful enterprise.”

As I mentioned earlier, they had wanted to be open in July, but it’s looking more like August. As far as hours, they are planned for 4pm to 10pm Sunday through Thursday and 4pm to 2am Friday and Sunday. Though Aaron says, “We’re flirting with staying open later.” And it will be a 21+ space.

Best of luck to Aaron and the folks putting Peacock together. I imagine it will be a great addition to the neighborhood—and to Portland overall.

Peacock [projected opening August 2025]
1400 SE Morrison Street, Portland
Peacock PDX website | Instagram

Updated August 28, 2025.