According to a a statement posted to Facebook shortly after noon today (Wednesday, May 20), Zippers, located on Fitzhugh Avenue at Travis Street, is closing permanently because of the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The statement on the bar’s Facebook page reads: “To all our amazing customers, we are beyond sorry to say that our landlord here at Zippers does not want to work with us on the rent for being forced to close. We are all heart broke over this. Thank you all so much for all the love you have shown us over the years. We will miss you all.”

Zippers is owned by Lonzie Hershner, who also owns two other LGBTQ bars,  The Tin Room and Marty’s Live. He purchased Zippers in March 2016 from Richard Curtain.

According to social media posts earlier this week following Gov. Greg Abbott’s announcement that bars could begin reopening, Zippers, Tin Room and Marty’s Live were set to reopen Friday, May 22, the first day they could legally do so. Both Tin Room and Marty’s Live still plan to be open on Friday, according to their Facebook pages, but a post on the Tin Room page indicates that the bar has been getting “threats” from people over its plans to reopen.

A post time-stamped 5:51 p.m. on Monday, May 18, states: “We are beyond excited to be able to welcome you all back come this Friday. However, we are already receiving threats from people about breaking rules lol and we are not even open yet. We will 100% do our best to follow guidelines. Everyones safety and health is our priority. As far as Facebook goes, we promote a fun and positive page. So for anyone being rude or threatening or send threatening message will be banned from the page. Thank you, all stay safe and see you SOON.”