This pride season, ditch the monotone and opt for a little bit of color in your shopping habits. From jewelry to fine dining, OUTFAU has got you covered on the top 6 LGBTQ+ local small businesses to support this pride season.
Connect Record Store, FT. Lauderdale
Located in the heart of downtown Ft. Lauderdale, Connect Record Store was opened in November 2024 by musicians and former Radioactive Records employees Natalie Martinez and Mick Ford. The business was opened shortly after the permanent closing of Radioactive Records in August 2024.
The shop carries a wide variety of records from all parts of the world and hosts DJs and other musicians for Jazz and other curated events.
Rosie’s Bar and Grill, Wilton Manors
Opened in 2006, Rosie’s has been an LGBTQ+ staple in the South Florida community for decades. The bar and grill serves a variety of dishes, from their signature “Britney Spears,” which are pickle fries served with their homemadehome-made sriracha dipping sauce, to their “Tender Lovin’” fried chicken.
Grill by day but Gay bar by night, the establishment also offers a variety of specialty cocktails, including their “Strawberry Dream,” which includes Ketel One Vodka, Kahula and Baileyʻs Strawberries & Cream, as well as their “Funday Fizz,” which includes Deep Eddy Vodka, Elderflower Liqueur and Sparkling Wine.
KAQCHI, Delray Beach
Named after the ancient Mayan language “Kaqchikel,” KAQCHI is a locally owned business based out of Delray Beach that offers handcrafted beads from indigenous Mayan women in Guatemala.
Although the shop doesn’t offer a brick and mortar store, their goods, which include handcrafted bracelets, dog collars, and earrings, are sold throughout stores and at farmers markets throughout South Florida.
The BOX Gallery, West Palm Beach
With an extensive collection of multimedia art installations throughout their recently moved location on Belvedere Rd. in West Palm Beach, the BOX Gallery hopes to share the work of diverse and underrepresented artists.
Although the gallery has been a staple to the West Palm Beach community for almost a decade, owner and founder Rolando Chang Barrero shared in a recent update on the gallery’s website that they would be transitioning to an online store starting in Feb., officially closing its doors on Feb. 15. However, many collections are still available via the gallery’s virtual store.
Malakor Thai Cafe, West Palm Beach
Couple Bill Manthy and Noopy Areerak opened Malakor Thai Cafe in West Palm Beach back in 2011. The cafe is one of the many restaurants owned by the couple around South Florida, including Kao Gang in Palm Beach Gardens, Malakor Thai Express in Loxahatchee, and Malakor Thai Isaan in Coral Gables.
The cafe’s name stems from the Thai word for Papaya and highlights one of their most popular dishes, the “Malakor Salad,” which carries papaya, peanuts, tomatoes, green beans, chili, garlic, and lime juice. Malakor also serves sushi, sashimi, and other Thai staples.
Easy Peasy Tattoo, Miami Beach
Opened by Julie Frances, a local tattoo artist, in 2023, Easy Peasy Tattoo in Miami Beach offers an inclusive and artistic space for tattoo artists to get together and share their work.
The shop hopes to create a community for local creatives, hosting nighttime events and workshops for locals to join. Easy Peasy also helps support the local LGBTQ+ community by offering entries to a raffle hosted by the Buen Provecho Collective, a non-profit based in the South Florida community, to help support gender affirming care for trans and non-binary people.
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