Backgrounder

The Philadelphians Making Their City A Gay-Friendly Place To Live, Work And Play

Name: Matthew Izzo, designer/boutique owner
Affiliation: Matthew Izzo boutiques
His Story: Matthew Izzo opened his first shop in Philadelphia in 2002, and business has been booming ever since. Izzo, a pedigreed Manhattan interior designer, opened his business here because “Philly is fresh. I fell in love with the architecture and newness of it. I was tired of being one of a bunch. Here, I could make a name for myself.” Izzo’s accomplished that task, with a furniture and home accessories shop, a thriving design business, a hip clothing boutique and a hair salon, along with his Web site, http://www.matthewizzo.com/. When he has time, he paints what he calls “soothing water concepts,” in a mix of acrylic and oil. An upholstery line is next to launch. “I dress people, I show people how to live, and then they can get their hair done.” How would he describe his style? “My look is urban, but with a European flare.”

Lolita 

Photo by G. Widman for GPTMC

Name: Wisam El Achkar, bartender, restaurant manager and DJ
Affiliation: Café Habana
His Story: On the fourth Friday of every month, one of the hottest gay parties takes over the gay-owned Café Habana in downtown Philadelphia. The sizzle is due in equal parts to the good looking international crowd, creative pours of tropical cocktails and the music spun by DJ Wisam El Achkar, a Venezuelan native who mixes Euro and Latin music as expertly as he does the special house mojitos. A resident of Philadelphia for four years, the restaurant’s manager is going for a specific sound. “My style is a little different than other Latin DJs. I don’t just play one kind of music. I mix up songs from all over South America, from house music in Spanish to Samba from Brazil and rock from Spain.” The multi-talented Achkar is just as creative with his drink recipes, shaking up mojitos flavored with coconut, passion fruit and pineapple, along with what he calls a Cuban Cosmo, with just a hint of mango. The restaurant isn’t big, so the 100 or so people who come out to party – a mix of drag queens, lesbians, gay men, straight couples is a real scene. “There’s no place to sit down.”

Name: Mark Segal, journalist/publisher/activist
Affiliation: Philadelphia Gay News
His Story: Mark Segal isn’t one to sit on the sidelines. The journalist/publisher/activist was involved in New York’s Action Group and infamous Stonewall Riots of June 1969, a trigger to the militant gay movement. That same year he also became a member of the Gay Liberation Front and founded the Gay Youth Group, which remains Manhattan’s longest existing LGBT organization. A few of his proudest accomplishments include protesting a lack of LGBT coverage on the national news in the early 70s, action which resulted in all three networks signing agreements to stop stereotyping gays and lesbians in programming and to cover news that affected the gay/lesbian community. In 1976, Segal founded the award-winning Philadelphia Gay News, a weekly publication known for its impassioned point of view. Segal has protested the treatment of gay people in Cuba, hosted the country’s first gay talk radio show and founded the Pride of Philadelphia Election Committee to strengthen the political muscle of the local gay and lesbian community. The former president of the National Gay Newspaper Guild, Segal also sits on the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association.

Name: Malcolm Lazin, founder and executive director, GLBT non-profit
Affiliation: Equality Forum
His Story: In Malcolm Lazin’s mind, Philadelphia is the perfect address for a national GLBT organization. Not only is Philadelphia the birthplace of democracy, it is also the birthplace of the organized gay and lesbian civil rights movement. Equality Forum, which evolved out of PrideFest Philadelphia, founded by Lazin in 1993, has a four-point mission. It coordinates the national and international celebration of GLBT history every October; it produces gay-themed documentary films; it undertakes national initiatives like the Fortune 500 Project, which aims to influence all Fortune 500 companies to adopt sexual orientation nondiscrimination policies; and it organizes the largest national and international LGBT civil rights forum, held in Philadelphia. Lazin is the executive producer of the documentaries “Saint of 9/11” (2006), “Gay Pioneers” (2004) and “Jim in Bold” (2003). He was the 2005 recipient of the National Education Association’s (NEA) Creative Leadership in Human Rights Award. In 2006, he was honored by Lebanon Valley College with the Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Names: Valerie Safran and Marcie Turney, restaurant and boutique owners
Affiliation: Lolita, Grocery and Open House
Their Story: There’s nothing new about women in the kitchen. But lesbian chefs running their own cafes and restaurants, now that’s a story not run often enough. For Valerie Safran and Marcie Turney, partners in love and business, owning their own Philadelphia restaurant was the only way to go. The women met six years ago at Valanni restaurant, a bistro where Safran waitressed and Turney cooked. Both women were anxious to strike out on their own. The pair took a risk and in October 2002, debuted Open House, a home accessories shop on 13th Street. Lolita, a contemporary Mexican restaurant across the street, came next. Creative fare, house-made margarita mix (bring your own tequila) and attentive service have put this intimate restaurant firmly on the Philadelphia dining map. Most recently, the pair opened Grocery, a cafe and market, also on 13th street. Patronized by the gay community, Lolita participates regularly in LGBT charity events, including Dining out for Life and ChefAID, as well as fundraisers for the Mazzoni Center and William Way Community Center.

Names: Michael Sparano and Rocco Giancaterino, salon/antique shop owners
Affiliation: Salon Royale Court
Their Story: It’s not every day that you can get your hair done and pick out the perfect mirror for the foyer. But that’s exactly what clients can do at Salon Royale Court, an artful combination of two businesses under one roof: a full service hair salon and an antique store specializing in 19th- century and early 20th-century English, French and American antiques. Located on two floors of their 11,000-square-foot Rittenhouse Square mansion, Salon Royal Court seamlessly combines Sparano and Giancaterino’s dual passions. “We treat it more like a studio than a hair salon,” said Sparano, who had an antique shop in Chestnut Hill before moving into town. He manages the business, while Giancaterino serves as artistic director for the salon. Everything in the place, from the rugs, to art on the walls, to the lamps and vases, is for sale. Most of the inventory is mid-range decorative antiques and accessories, affordable enough to tempt customers to add that special mirror or hallway runner onto their bill for highlights and a manicure.

Name: Martin McNamara, gallery owner
Affiliation: Gallery 339
His Story: Martin McNamara doesn’t profess to be an art photographer. In fact, he doesn’t even take pictures. But he has collected fine art photography for years, and along the way developed an uncanny eye for exciting contemporary work. Struck by the fact that Philadelphia didn’t have a dedicated fine art photography gallery, McNamara and his partner of 16 years opened Gallery 339 on the corner of 21st and Pine Streets in early 2005. Inspired by a beautiful photography gallery called Hackelbury that he often visited in London, located in a commercial space, McNamara worked with an architect to transform 2,500 square feet of space into a sleek, modern showcase for local, national and international artists. He looks for work that is distinct and stands out in some way. “I look for an artist whose pictures are carefully made. So much art out there is derivative, that when someone stands out from the pack, it’s compelling.”

Names: Bob Stephens and Ciro Colombo, B&B owners
Affiliation: Cordials B&B of New Hope
Their Story: Bob Stephens and his partner of 39 years Ciro Colombo are typical residents of New Hope, the artsy enclave that draws GLBT visitors equally from New York and Philadelphia.  Stephens and Colombo were longtime visitors who loved the area so much they bought a business and stayed. Eight years ago, the pair purchased Cordials B&B, a six-room, two-and-a-half-story inn that was voted one of the top 10 inns in the U.S. by http://www.bedandbreakfast.com/. “You can’t get more gay friendly than New Hope,” said Stephens. “No matter where you go, there are gay people. And more are moving in all the time.” In his view, New Hope is a prototype of what the rest of the country should be – a mix of artists, homemakers, commuters, gay, straight and transgendered. The area’s sense of community extends to popular gathering spots, including The Raven and the Eagle Volunteer Fire House. 

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) makes Philadelphia and The Countryside™ a premier destination through marketing and image building that increases business and promotes the region’s vitality. For more information about travel to Philadelphia, visit http://www.gophila.com/ or call the Independence Visitor Center, located in Independence National Historical Park, at (800) 537-7676. 

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(215) 599-2290, jeff@gptmc.com

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