Hail Mary: The SunTrapp Shines Under New Ownership

You know her, you love her. She’s beauty, she’s grace and she’s Miss United Queer Space, it’s… The SunTrapp! Yes, we are once again covering The SunTrapp this Pride season, dear readers, and for good reasons. This June will mark a year since the historic gay bar reopened under new owner Mary Peterson. While The SunTrapp might be known to some as that tiny little queer dive on the corner of 102 South and 600 West, to others it’s a huge staple of Utah queer history as the first openly gay bar in our state. Despite multiple ownership changes, loses of liquor licenses and even a tornado back in the ‘90s, The SunTrapp, like its queer patrons, is forever resilient.

The history of the bar, and its many iterations throughout the years, starts all the way back in the ‘70s when Joe Redburn bought the Railroad Exchange Saloon and reopened it as the Sun Tavern. The bar became one of the first gay bars in the state of Utah. Redburn would not only expand with The Trapp Door (now Metro Music Hall) but also with keggers (a sort of Pride-type event before actual Pride came to Utah) at places like the Great Salt Lake and City Creek Canyon. When the 1999 tornado hit Salt Lake, it took the Sun Tavern with it, leading Redburn to sell both his buildings. The Sun Tavern was sold to Frank Chugg and Rob Goulding. Chugg eventually sold it to Goulding making him sole owner. After passing from pancreatic cancer, Goulding left the bar to three individuals before The SunTrapp landed into Peterson’s lap.

“I knew that whoever took it needed to make sure it maintained its safe space for the queer community.”

Peterson is the epitome of a “cool mom” in the form of a bar owner/accountant/firm owner (yes, folks, she quite literally does it all). While working as the accountant for the previous owners of The SunTrapp, Peterson decided that with the building up for sale once again, to finance it and dump all of her own personal savings into the bar. “I’m an accountant — I’ve never really worked in the service industry, never bartended, had no idea what I was doing. I knew that whoever took it needed to make sure it maintained its safe space for the queer community.” She adds, “My main priority was making sure it remained true to what it was always intended to be.” One of the main driving factors behind Peterson’s decision to buy the bar was her own personal experience watching her queer child come into their own. Although it wasn’t an easy feat, Peterson shares, “I cried a lot. I can show you my cry spot later. I was like, ‘What have I done?’”

“My main drive to take over was to make a safe space for people to come and dress how they want, kiss who they want, meet who they want — and to feel very comfortable and safe.”

Despite all the challenges and renovations the bar has gone through, it’s safe to say that The SunTrapp is flourishing under her, and her team’s, work. “The bar had been neglected for many years. I actually tripled my budget. There were times where I second guessed my decision [to buy the bar].” Though Peterson attributes the success of this new ownership to everyone having a shared vision of the sacred space that The SunTrapp has always meant to be, she says, “Everyone that I have on my team share[s] my vision.” She adds, “I don’t have a written mission statement, but my main drive to take over was to make a safe space for people to come and dress how they want, kiss who they want, meet who they want — and to feel very comfortable and safe.”

With Peterson’s ownership, her on-point marketing director and her close relationship with KW, aka the mind behind Missionaire (a queer digital and print content group), you can expect bigger and cuntier events coming from The SunTrapp — not only this Pride season but all year long. To stay in the loop and enjoy the charm that is The SunTrapp, follow their Instagram @thesuntrappslc or visit their website suntrappslc.com.

Read more of SLUG’s coverage of the queer local community here:
Second Sunday Tea: Spill That Tea, Sis!
BYU’s Gayest Lighting Rig and the Film that Followed