Bar Bantam & The Hideaway Raise the Bar at the Rochester Queer Arts Festival
Every great festival needs the perfect pour, and this year’s Rochester Queer Arts Festival has found its dream team in Table For 2 Hospitality. The company’s owner and driving force, Max Gordon, is sending two of his most beloved venues—Bar Bantam and The Hideaway—onto the festival grounds for a one-day takeover that promises to keep spirits high from the first beat to the last encore. Bar Bantam will shake and stir its way into the open-air Festival Tent Bar, while The Hideaway will anchor the sun-splashed Atrium Bar just steps from indoor performances. Together they’ll turn Village Gate into Rochester’s happiest block party, complete with clinking glasses, local brews, and the kind of welcoming vibe that makes every toast feel like a group hug.
If you haven’t crossed paths with Table For 2 yet, picture a hospitality group built on the mantra “Four Passions, One Mission: to create unforgettable memories every day.” That promise isn’t just marketing fluff—it’s the north star guiding every menu tweak, service standard, and community partnership Gordon touches. From a single Park Avenue storefront six years ago, he’s grown a mini-empire that now includes a catering arm, a rooftop event space, and restaurants that regularly land on Rochester “best-of” lists. The local chamber of commerce even spotlighted him for steering his businesses through the pandemic with an agility that turned uncertainty into expansion opportunities.
Max’s secret sauce is connection, and it shows in the way his restaurants double as neighborhood gathering spots. Drag-brunch fund-raisers, Pride-month parties, and behind-the-scenes support for queer nonprofits are all part of the Table For 2 calendar, so linking arms with the Queer Arts Festival felt less like a business deal and more like family planning a reunion. With Max’s crews behind the bars, every festivalgoer can sip easy knowing their tab helps sustain the same inclusive spaces Rochester’s LGBTQIA+ community counts on year-round.
First up is Bar Bantam, the downtown darling tucked inside the Metropolitan Building. Since opening in 2018, it has earned a reputation as an all-day chameleon: bright coffeeshop at ten, power-lunch canteen at noon, oyster-slinging happy-hour hub at four, and cocktail den by night. Those boundary-pushing cocktails—often laced with unexpected tinctures or house-made syrups—will make the Festival Tent Bar feel like a sprawling patio “speakeasy,” minus the password. Picture basil-infused gin highballs, watermelon-chili margaritas, and a zero-proof spritz so layered you’ll swear there’s liquor in it.
A short stroll across the grounds lands you at The Hideaway’s Atrium Bar, where the energy shifts from nightclub pulse to laid-back living room. The Park Avenue original bills itself as “American Casual” and backs up the claim with grass-fed burgers, chef-driven sandwiches, and a rotating beer list that reads like an upstate love letter. “Real food with real ingredients” is their creed, and that same care will guide every pint they pour at the festival. Expect hazy IPAs from next-door breweries, crisp hard ciders that pair beautifully with the early-October sun, and maybe a maple-kissed bourbon old-fashioned for those chasing cozy autumn vibes before sweater season officially lands.
What does this double-bar setup mean for your festival itinerary? It means doors open at ten and you’re greeted with an iced espresso-tonic from Bar Bantam if coffee is the vibe. It means when a spoken-word artist drops a line that hits your soul, The Hideaway is ten steps away with a cold pilsner to toast the moment. It means as the main-stage drag finale shimmies into golden hour, both bars are ready with compostable cups, lightning-fast card readers, and bartenders who somehow remember every specialty drink order even after 500 of them.
Of course, festival day is only chapter one of this story. In the run-up to October 11, you can sample the collaboration by visiting each restaurant on its home turf. Swing by Bar Bantam at One South Clinton for Tuesday lunch and a preview of the cocktail wizardry headed to the tent. Then meander to 197 Park Avenue for Sunday brunch at The Hideaway, where cinnamon-sugar French-toast sticks do an excellent job of soaking up mimosas. Each visit supports the local businesses making the festival possible and offers a delicious sneak peek at what you’ll be drinking when art, music, and community collide.
