The clientele was fun, the bartenders were friendly and the drinks were strong.
I’m not sure how I survived… my regular drink of choice then was kir royale (champagne and Chambord), and I threw them back with abandon and, astonishingly, never woke up with a hangover (ah, youth). One of the biggest draws at Patrick’s was the top-notch talent that performed there, and the top of that notch was the superb RSVP, a four-part harmony vocal group (think Manhattan Transfer) that raised the roof at every appearance: Ernie Ritchie, musical director/arranger David Rogers, Carol Farabee (Blackwood), Julie Johnson and Michael Justis brought the house down nightly, while my pals and I drank the house down. RSVP would go on to play nightclubs, showrooms and theaters around the country. Eventually Patrick’s gave way to other cabarets, as my kir royale did to pinot grigio, but for me in the ‘80s, that’s where I liked to get away. Situated where Green Papaya stands today, before there was addiction treatment readily available for all, Java Jones was a beacon for many LGBTQ in recovery from substance abuse.
With its shelves lined with books from all genres and games for anyone to play, it was a safe place for those of us in the LGBTQ community who needed a somewhere to go free from drugs and alcohol but didn’t want to miss out on the shenanigans of Cedar Springs nightlife.
