The Abbey: LA's Nexus Hot Spot

A gay bar is a gay bar, right? Wrong - if we're talking about The Abbey.

Located in the heart of West Hollywood, the hot spot in West Hollywood for the last twenty years has been voted The Best Gay Bar in the World by Logo's Gay Travel Awards for the second year in a row.

Beating out bars in London, Rio, Chicago, Brazil and other places around the world, what is the key to The Abbey's success after all these years - and how did it become the destination for celebrities like Christina Aguilera, Sandra Bullock and the legendary Elizabeth Taylor?

EDGE's Jim Halterman sat down with David Cooley at The Abbey recently to talk about the days when The Abbey was a coffee shop - and what's to come for the establishment.

(Also, in the interest of full disclosure, we had the chance to sample some of the signature drinks and amazing food offerings that you can get at The Abbey.)

From Coffee Bar to the Best Gay Bar in the World

EDGE: When you first started the Abbey, it was very different from what it is today - but is this the vision you always had?

David Cooley: I started a small coffee house with a partner at the time...we had about a hundred square feet and basically borrowed everything on a credit card and this was before Starbucks. Everyone was telling me, 'How are you going to make money on coffee and you're not even on Santa Monica Boulevard!? You're off the beaten track!' I remember asking friends if they wanted to invest five thousand and they said no. So, to see this twenty years later and see this still going strong and doing another remodeling it makes me really proud.

EDGE: The gay community has changed alongside The Abbey in those twenty years, right?

DC: It makes me really proud where I was twenty years ago and where the gay community was twenty years ago. I'd go down to the bars and Mother Bears was behind smoked windows, Rage had curtains, Revolver [which is now East/West] was behind black glass. Nothing was where you could be a proud gay man. I got calls from people saying 'What are you doing with that open space?' I just wanted to push the bar up a little bit - and to see where this has come along twenty years later and also the second year of being honored by MTV and Logo as being the best gay bar in the world, it makes me feel really great. Not just for the successful business but also I have kids coming in here and they come up to me and say 'I want you to know this is the first bar I came out feeling comfortable in' or when I see customers walking in with their parents and say 'This is the first place I feel comfortable bringing my parents.' That makes me feel really good.

EDGE: What was it that made you take the leap from coffeehouse to more?

DC: So much of my success comes from my landlord, who is still my landlord here. He's a retired gay man in Palm Springs now and any time I went to him and said 'Now the city requires me to have two bathrooms' he really supported the growth for me. He just made me feel comfortable. He's very protective of me. Anytime I wanted to grow he allowed me to grow so I really appreciate him - Danny Edwards - and he's been really helpful.

The Abbey: Where Hollywood’s A-List Goes to Party

EDGE: Opening up another bar when there were so many bars already, were you concerned about that at the time?

DC: I started out with [the first bar] it was just a little wooden bar and I have it in my house now. Then I opened the back room. Every time I opened a room I wanted to put a bar in there because I thought if I was doing special events they could still have privacy in that room or I could open it up to the public. When I opened up this last room, which is a really big room, I remember standing in there thinking "How am I going to fill this place up?" But twenty years later I still have a line out the door.

EDGE: You always hear about celebrities coming to the Abbey. Is that the kind of thing where you invited them in or did they just show up?

DC: The one thing in LA is having celebrities all around and everyone loves a fun party but I do have a few regulars who have always been so, so supportive of me like Christina Aguilera. Every time I opened up a new room, I'd give a call and she would be there for us. She's so great for the community. Christina, Mary J Blige, Sandra Bullock was in here and when I sit down and have martinis with Elizabeth Taylor...being from Ohio, I still have to pinch myself under the table.

EDGE: Did you ever get flack from the gays for straight people or straight celebrities coming to The Abbey?

DC: I got people who said 'Oh my God! It's becoming so straight here!' I said 'Are you serious? This is what we want!' It's like reverse discrimination! When I hear that, I say 'Isn't that what we've been fighting for all these years? For everyone to be equal?'

Could There Be An Abbey Near You Soon??

EDGE: You're remodeling part of The Abbey now, right?

DC: Everyone is going to love me because I have a lot of bathrooms now. We're rearranging two of our bars; we're doing a larger kitchen...just kind of doing the updating. With the amount of traffic we do here we need to change it. People get excited when they see changes going on. We're going to spruce it up and make some additions. Make more intimate dining, cocktail spaces and a better sound system.

EDGE: Why is there no Abbey NY or Abbey Chicago?

DC: That's why I worked with my business partner {and SBE CEO] Sam Nazarian four years ago. After I merged with them I took a couple months off and then started looking for locations in other cities. I visited New York, Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, New Orleans, Chicago, San Diego...and we were in contract with three of those cities and for one reason or another we didn't go through with it. With what the economy has gone through I'm glad we didn't because those cities got hit really really hard. I can tell you right now there are two things in negotiations in other cities to take the Abbey name across the country.

EDGE: You've also always been committed to helping various charities.

DC: I think part of the success of The Abbey is the customers I have here. We've become friends and when I got started I didn't really put any money into marketing. I put the money into working with local charities from our big APLA party for the Oscars every year, which I totally underwrite to a VIP breakfast and Christmas in September with all the proceeds going to the Children's Hospital.

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(story continues on next page: What to Eat and What to Drink at the Abbey, the Best Gay Bar in the World...),

Got Hunger? The Abbey Will Satisfy

When you think of the Abbey, you think of men, cocktails, and more men...but there's also great food whether you want dinner or just something to munch on in between the cocktails...and the men.

How about Sunday brunch at the Abbey? Apart from the usual Mimosas or Bellinis, how about a stack of pancakes with some whipped cream and blueberries?

Or if you're not into the brunch scene, I almost fell off my chair when I tasted the creamy, light hummus with warm pita bread appetizer. While a pretty traditional appetizer, just having the bread warmed made a huge difference and a great snack.

For something a bit heavier (and if you're a size queen when it comes to your food) then the Big Burrito is for you.

First of all, like its name, the thing is BIG! But since I am not a huge fan of Mexican cuisine, it was not overwhelming in terms of hot sauces or beans. Just the right amount and you can always add the sauces to satisfy each palate.

I'm all for a good sampler platter and you can't go wrong with The Abbey Sampler. Mozzarella sticks, onion rings, BBQ wings and chicken skewers with various dipping sauces all come to you piping hot and, for a former Midwesterner, you never really get tired of a little fried food once in awhile.

Or if a burger is more your style, the plate of sliders with fries is a choice that won't disappoint.

And don't forget dessert! While the Abbey has changed a lot over the years, the dessert case is still filled with the best in after-dinner sweets. No big surprise that the most popular ones are the Red Velvet Cake and the Red Velvet Ding Dongs. Try them both. I dare you.

Drinks and Men, Men and Drinks...

But, no disrespect to a yummy plate of food, we can make it all a little better with a good drink, right? I'm personally a fan of the sweeter drinks so the Wild Berry Martini was as close to perfection as I could find. Deemed 'The Best Gay Cocktail in the World,' proceeds from purchasing the drink before the end of the year go to The Trevor Project. And, hey, if Wild Berry isn't for you, there are 25 other Martini flavors to try.

If you're a Mojito fan, you'll want to give one of the ten flavors a try. Mango is the most popular but I found the coconut flavor to be just as good. But if you're an old-fashioned guy or gal, a nice lemonade may be in order. Of course, you have five flavor choices here including the Abbey Old Fashioned, Mango, Pineapple, Torched Cherry and (my favorite) the Raspberry Lemonade made with Raspberry Vodka and the best lemonade.

Of course, there are the usual Abbey drinks available all the time, too, like the Original Margarita, Torched Cherry, Sunkissed and Prickly Pear. And, of course, if you're a wine drinker, there's an extensive wine menu to peruse to find your favorite taste.

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The great thing about The Abbey is even when there's a big event, it still feels like the kind of bar you can go to, be yourself and enjoy yourself, which is how any bar should be, right?

Details on tickets for upcoming events can be found at the Abbey.

For more information on food and menu items at The Abbey, go to www.abbeyfoodandbar.com .