The Ruby Fruit, a Silver Lake “strip mall wine bar for the sapphically inclined,” closed suddenly on January 11, 2025, after two years of business, amid the chaos of the Los Angeles wildfires. The owners, Emily Bielagus and Mara Herbkersman, announced the closure in a now-deleted Instagram post that read, “We have come to the heartbreaking decision that at this time, operating the Ruby Fruit is no longer possible due to financial impact from the current natural disaster.” The post went on to say, “The math just isn’t mathing.”
The initial response to the closure was mostly an outpouring of shock and heartbreak in the Instagram comments, with many asking how they could help, or if the Ruby Fruit was planning on starting a GoFundMe to reopen. In contrast to those offering support, dozens of commenters alleged that they had not felt welcome at the bar. After the Ruby Fruit closed, multiple media outlets covered the news, including an op-ed rooting for the Silver Lake wine bar’s reopening, while another discussed its financial struggles. About a month after the initial closure, on February 12, LGBTQ publication the Blade published a report in which former staff alleged mistreatment in the workplace. The report also included allegations of trans and BIPOC customers not feeling welcome in the bar.
On February 6, Bielagus and Herbkersman put out a statement on Instagram addressing the comments and events surrounding the closure, writing that they always intended the Ruby Fruit to be an inclusive space, restating that the reason for the sudden closure was financial struggles and that they are always open to further conversation. The comments were turned off. About a week later, on February 12, the duo deleted the bar’s account entirely.
The Ruby Fruit was one of the most prominent openings in 2023 and earned Eater LA’s Best New Community Restaurant award that same year. With the majority of LA’s queer bars catering to gay men, the Ruby Fruit’s closure marked a somber reminder of the city’s lack of lesbian and nonbinary spaces.
Eater spoke with Bielagus, Herbkersman, and two employees to examine the events since the closure. Here’s everything to know about what’s happening with the Ruby Fruit.
What is the Ruby Fruit?
The Ruby Fruit, named as an homage to Rita Mae Brown’s 1973 coming-of-age novel Rubyfruit Jungle, debuted as a Silver Lake wine bar for LA’s sapphic community on February 21, 2023. Them, an LGBTQ news publication, defines sapphic as “an umbrella term that includes lesbian, bisexual, and pansexual trans femmes, mascs, nonbinary folks, and cis women.”
Bielagus and Herbkersman met and became friends while working at Eszett, a casual wine bar previously occupying the Ruby Fruit space, eventually hosting sapphic nights they called Leszett.
During its tenure, the Ruby Fruit offered wine, beer, cocktails, and coffee alongside a lunch and dinner menu with comfort dishes like popcorn chicken, a furikake Caesar salad, deviled eggs, and grilled wings. The bar was also a popular venue for events like comedy shows, coworking, and live music.
“I had always said I wanted to open a lesbian bar before I turned 40,” Bielagus explains. “Mara had always had that same dream and that’s how we bonded when we were working together. Quite simply, we wanted a space where the sapphic community felt safe to go, and we knew that there wasn’t that space in LA.”
While LA has numerous lesbian and queer events, the only permanent lesbian bar outside of the Ruby Fruit was Honey’s at Star Love, which opened in February 2023. Though LA’s lesbian bars were prominent in decades past, in 2019, the lone lesbian bar in the second-largest city in America was a pop-up called the Fingerjoint.
What does it mean to be a sapphically inclined bar?
In the wake of the bar’s closure, commenters on Instagram raised questions about why the Ruby Fruit referred to itself as a “sapphically inclined” bar instead of a “lesbian bar,” especially since the bar’s GoFundMe refers to it as a “lesbian bar.”
Agua, a former employee of the Ruby Fruit who only wants to be identified by their first name, alleges that Herbkersman emphasized that the bar should be for “everyone,” instead of being focused on just the lesbian community.
Bielagus says they used the terms “sapphically inclined,” “lesbian,” and “sapphic community” interchangeably since the bar opened. “I know that there are people who feel that the word ‘lesbian’ doesn’t include them, and I think the word sapphic is a larger umbrella that includes the gender-expansive community, the trans community, and the nonbinary community,” she says. “We also wanted to be clear that the word ‘lesbian’ is an okay word; we didn’t want to be like, ‘“Lesbian” is a dirty word.’ It’s just sometimes not the only word for the community we wanted to serve.”
What brought about the Ruby Fruit’s closure?
According to Bielagus and Herbkersman, the Ruby Fruit has been “vulnerable” since opening. The duo opened the bar two weeks after Eszett’s closure when the previous owners offered them the space; Eszett closed on January 20, 2023, and the Ruby Fruit opened on February 21, 2023.
Bielagus says that the bar was busy when it first opened but started to see a shift at the end of 2023, concurrent with the SAG-AFTRA strike. She says that it became clear that people had fewer resources to spend, and the customers that did come in didn’t spend as much. Some customers were affected directly and were not working at the time. Bielagus says that after the strikes, business never really normalized to the mid-2023 numbers.
Agua says that from the back of the house, the bar seemed busy when they started working there in March 2024 as a line cook and later when they were promoted to sous chef. But they say that when they switched over to the morning shift, it was a “very different pace,” citing challenges in competing with the popular brunch restaurant Millie’s next door.
Herbkersman says that while the bar was able to pay its staff and bills, it never turned a profit and wasn’t able to save enough to have a safety net. Bielagus adds that throughout the bar’s run, she and Herbkersman were trying to secure investors and more financial backing but were “stretched thin” while trying to handle day-to-day operations and work at the bar.
After the Palisades and Eaton fires broke out in Los Angeles on January 7, 2025, the Ruby Fruit paused operations for a day to evaluate the situation. After the bar reopened, sales dropped 90 percent, bringing in an estimated $600 for the day. “That’s when the panic really set in,” Herbkersman says. “When we’re talking about being vulnerable, the line is so thin between being able to carry on and not. It became really clear after two days of being open that if we were to go on one more day, we would run the risk of not being able to pay our employees, a nonnegotiable for us.” The pair realized they only had enough money in the bank for payroll up to the close on January 11. “The dollars made that decision for us,” Herbkersman says.
Agua alleges that the business had been struggling for some time. “Every single day, they would be, like, ‘We’re going broke,’” they say. After notifying employees of the immediate closure via email, Bielagus and Herbkersman took to Instagram to make the announcement. “I think they clearly were struggling with money for a long time,” says Sienna Deadrich, a former line cook at the Ruby Fruit. The duo attributed the closure to the “financial impact from the current natural disaster.”
Some commenters took the statement as Bielagus and Herbkersman blaming the closure on the fire, even though the bar was not directly affected. Bielagus clarifies that they didn’t mean to blame it on the fires, but instead wanted to highlight how delicate the business was. “Anything would have done us in,” she says.
On January 13, Bielagus and Herbkersman hosted a Zoom meeting with former staff. While Herbkersman says the meet was an opportunity for staff to air their grievances and ask questions, and some even encouraged them to start a GoFundMe, Agua was hoping that staff could have a conversation about workplace issues. But that never materialized since the restaurant was closing.
Where are these allegations about workplace issues coming from?
In the comments section under the fundraising post, a handful of alleged former employees made allegations of mistreatment and other workplace issues during their time working at the Ruby Fruit. The Blade reports that multiple former employees who wished to remain anonymous due to fear of retaliation reached out to the publication. “The sadness I feel about the closure of the bar is much smaller compared to the disappointment and hurt I experienced working there,” says an anonymous former employee in the Blade’s report.
“The responses from staff are shocking because it’s not in line with what we intended or understood was the temperature of it,” Herbkersman says. “It’s devastating to lose a job. I mean, we’ve all been there, but it just felt like a big shock.”
Agua says that their experience working at the Ruby Fruit started positively, especially because they were able to work with so many other queer people. But as they settled into the role further and got comfortable, “toxicity from the owners” emerged that left employees feeling like their experiences working there didn’t line up with the inclusivity Bielagus and Herbkersman had touted. “I made amazing friends and an amazing community out of that space,” they say. “But when it was bad, it was bad. It felt like I was walking on eggshells.” They allege that being one of the few people of color working on the core team made their experience more difficult, and they felt “isolated” at work.
Deadrich mentions that coworkers suggested community events hosted by people of color, but alleges that their ideas were discouraged. “A lot of the staff were younger queer people of color. We wanted to try something in the space next door. Two of my coworkers tried to plan a queer movie night. Agua and I wanted to do a couple of sit-down dinners and a book night.” Deadrich became discouraged upon being presented with two options: either rent the space for $4,000 and sell their own tickets, or pay nothing and the event would be hosted by the Ruby Fruit. “I was frustrated that either I would have to pay $4,000 or have them profit off of my ideas and labor,” says Deadrich.
“I was hired under the idea that everyone had a voice or something to say,” Deadrich says. “I think Mara and Emily tried to hide under this veil of inclusion. But then, when it actually came down to it, I would try to give my ideas and they were just always kind of like, ‘Whatever.’”
“I felt very tokenized throughout my time there,” Agua says. “To see other people of color share that similar experience as me was very hurtful, because no one should ever experience racism or any type of bigotry. But it was very validating, and I didn’t feel isolated in my experience.”
Deadrich alleges that staff had brought their concerns about the workplace and inclusivity to Bielagus and Herbkersman in the past. “We talked to them about it, and they kind of just glossed over it,” they say.
Bielagus says that reading the comments under the Instagram post was “heartbreaking,” and that they “shifted things internally” to support the most vulnerable while the bar was open, like sharing tips across the entire staff, from managers to dishwashers. Still, Herbkersman says that they were “underresourced.”
Herbkersman and Bielagus say that they wish they did more “concrete” things like DEI training for staff, and had more policies in place to explore that. “We understand that as a missed opportunity.” Herbkersman adds that the comments have not been “unheard” or “ignored,” and that she sees and reads them. “I want and relish the opportunity to address those things,” she says.
How has the Ruby Fruit responded to allegations of being noninclusive?
Alongside allegations from former employees, some commenters alleged that the Ruby Fruit had been unwelcoming to trans and BIPOC customers. “I don’t think they purposefully didn’t include them,” says Deadrich. “But from the perspective of someone who is POC and trans, it was very clear that they didn’t include them.” Deadrich and Agua both allege that when concerns about inclusivity were brought up, Bielagus and Herbkersman would brush them off.” Deadrich recalls one instance when Herbkersman allegedly came into the kitchen talking about what people were saying online about the bar. Deadrich says, “She was just like, ‘We’re a queer space, and everyone’s welcome here,’ and all that kind of stuff. ‘I don’t know why they are saying these sorts of things.’”
“It’s really surprising,” Herbkersman says of the comments on Instagram. “I think we’re just in shock about it. It’s not in line with anything that we set out to do.” She says that the “conversation of inclusivity” has always been a topic at the Ruby Fruit and that they’ve worked to make sure their messaging was in line with their vision of the bar being a “radically inclusive space.”
“To hear someone accuse us of being TERFs is just like gut-wrenching because it’s so far from the intention and what we were really trying to accomplish,” Herbkersman says. TERF is an acronym that stands for trans-exclusionary radical feminist.
Bielagus says that they were always mindful of trying to include trans people, nonbinary people, and BIPOC in conversations about what people wanted from the bar, and what it could offer. “The Ruby Fruit was never just about us,” Bielagus says. “It was about ensuring that others around us are lifted up.”
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25882133/fundraiser.png)
What’s up with the GoFundMe fundraisers?
Bielagus and Herbkersman started the first GoFundMe on January 12, 2025, the day after the Ruby Fruit closed, to support the laid-off staff. The fundraiser was capped at $15,000, which Bielagus and Herbkersman allege is the equivalent of one additional paycheck for staff, while Deadrich alleges that it would come out to less than a paycheck for staff. They allege that staff were also not aware that Bielagus and Herbkersman were planning to start the GoFundMe. “We kept on being like, ‘Let’s talk about this as a team, as a group,’” Deadrich says. “And they kept on just posting stuff for us without talking about it before.” They also describe the timing of the original GoFundMe as “insensitive” amid the ongoing fires. “So many Black and brown families are posting their GoFundMes because they’re losing their houses, and you guys can’t pay your employees because you guys are bad business owners,” they say. Bielagus shares a different account, saying that they were “conscious of that moment” and wanted “to be aware of how this fit in with the rest of the fundraising that was going on at the time.”
On February 5, after about 25 days open, the Ruby Fruit closed the employee fundraiser at around $13,000, which was $2,000 shy of its goal. The funds have since been distributed to employees.
On the same day, Bielagus and Herbkersman announced a new fundraiser to save the Ruby Fruit, with a goal of $100,000, along with a charity event called Leather & Lace. Former employees were confused by the shuttering of their GoFundMe to start a new one. “We were supposed to meet the goal of $15,000, but as soon as they started their new goal of funding $100,000 they deleted ours,” Agua alleges. “People were still trying to donate, and so we never even met the goal — we were kind of just left out again of the conversation.” Deadrich says that the new GoFundMe felt like “a slap in the face.”
Herbkersman defends the choice to close the employee GoFundMe and start a new one to save the bar. “It was necessary for us to start to shift our focus onto the business as a whole,” she says. “Otherwise, the option of even ever hiring them back would be impossible. If we can’t get the business back, then we can’t do anything for anyone ever.”
Agua also alleges that the staff had no prior knowledge of the fundraiser or the event. “That post just happened out of nowhere, and we’re like, ‘What’s going on?’” Bielagus and Herbkersman allege that within an hour of the posting going up, they reached out to former employees to offer jobs working at the event. “They were not happy that they had not been informed that we were holding that event,” Herbkersman says.
“Something I really want to make clear is we have always been very open with our staff,” Bielagus says. “We’ve included them in all the decisions that they need to be included in. But we also need to make some financial decisions that are really important to our business without including them in those decisions.”
Is the Leather & Lace event still happening?
According to Bielagus and Herbkersman, the Leather & Lace event has been canceled with refunds issued to ticket holders. At the time of cancellation, they had sold 50 regular tickets and all VIP tables.
What have the owners said since the closure?
On February 6, Bielagus and Herbkersman put out a statement on Instagram with a title card that said, “A message from the Ruby Fruit,” addressing the closure and Instagram comments. In the post on the now-deleted Instagram account, Bielagus and Herbkersman wrote that the bar “has always been and will always remain dedicated to inclusivity” and has always “welcomed open dialogue.”
The post went on to clarify that the decision to pause operations was directly informed by the fire, and the sharp loss of business, adding that they only had enough to pay staff for one more day.
Bielagus and Herbkersman also wrote that they were reviewing their policies and evaluating the business moving forward including providing diversity, equity, and inclusion training for management and staff; improving workplace policies; establishing clearer reporting mechanisms for workplace grievances; and encouraging more open communication.
What’s currently happening in the Ruby Fruit space?
Coco’s to Go-Go, run by culinary producer and chef Courtney Storer, is currently running a relief kitchen out of the former Ruby Fruit space.
What’s next for the Ruby Fruit?
On February 12, Bielagus and Herbkersman put out a statement on the GoFundMe to reopen the Ruby Fruit, saying they “fully plan to re-open [the] doors as a safe space for LA’s Sapphic community.” While the fundraiser is paused, they withdrew $3,926.89 on February 14 from GoFundMe to keep the business afloat and will put the funds towards utilities, rent, and outstanding vendor payments. In a follow-up statement to Eater LA, Bielagus and Herbkersman say that they are “uncertain of any future plans for the Ruby Fruit.”
Agua says that since the bar closed, people have asked them if they would work there again if it reopens. They say they would be open to it if it were employee-run and -owned. “The only way the Ruby Fruit can happen again is if Emily and Mara are no longer owners, or if they step back,” they say. “The same thing will continue happening if they’re in leadership positions.”
As of February 21, the Ruby Fruit is still selling a $150 sweatshirt that reads, “I saved the Ruby Fruit, and all I got was this lousy sweatshirt.”
