The Back Door

The Back Door is a queer bar at 207 S. College Ave. in downtown Bloomington, in the alley behind The Atlas Bar. Olive Lykins and Sara Gardner opened it on Valentine's Day 2013.

The owners called it a queer bar rather than a gay bar because it is open to everyone. From the start it worked as a performance space as much as a bar, with burlesque, drag and hula-hooping. The name nods to old gay clubs that were entered through back doors.

The bar closed in March 2020 during the pandemic and held a grand reopening in May 2021, after the owners remodeled the patio into an outdoor performance space. A 2026 LGBTQ+ venue guide lists drag shows several nights a week, karaoke, trivia, line dancing, burlesque and open stage nights, and a dog-friendly patio. That guide also notes that Axios called it Indiana's last lesbian bar. Events change, and Intentionalist says the bar hosts at least one every week.