Giuliano D’Orazio

Last month, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Matt Gonzalez. He happens to be a good friend of mine, is a total sweetheart and he recently added ‘bartender at the MB Lounge’ to his resume. I wanted to interview Matt as a sort of follow up to my February 2020 column, where I interviewed club owner Marco Guinnette and then-new manager Keith Bellerose. We had discussed some of the struggles surrounding the bar’s reputation with Worcester’s present day queer community – specifically amongst trans, gender noncomforming and queer folks of color. We talked as well about their decision to shift management and present a new vision of inclusivity, or as Keith put it “be more welcoming, making sure everyone feels like they’re welcome here”. There were some plans for programming new events, and hiring some new faces behind the bar, but the pandemic put the work on pause, as it did for so many in nightlife and entertainment. 

Fast forward a year and two months later to Memorial Day 2021, and as soon as bars in Mass were given the green light to open without regulations, the MB presented a new slate of bartenders which included Matt alongside Alana and Mike. After a few weeks of operating “post-regulations”, Matt agreed to chat with me about the past, present and future of his new workplace, or as he might put it, his laboratory. “I feel like a mad scientist when I’m behind the bar” he told me “I’ll put on my chemist goggles and get to work!” 

I asked Matt, whose social location includes being a queer man of color, what he saw as the main contributing challenges to the lack of resolution around the bar’s reputation. “I think the main challenge has always been communication,” said Matt, adding “We [the community and community spaces] need to be able to talk about what issues we have, work through them, and come up with a resolution. With this new team of ours, we are all on the same page. We welcome feedback and if we are able to help or fix something, we will – all we need is communication”.

We continued talking about the perception that some folks have about the bar, citing its lack of diversity in staffing as well as generally not being known as an inclusive space for all queer people. “I would ask, have they been around recently?” He said “I would want those individuals to experience the new MB and see the difference in service and environment”. He’s genuinely committed as he says “please reach out to me on any of my social media platforms if you don’t feel comfortable contacting the MB Lounge page. We will work on making it safe” adding “I’ll be there as long as I can to help spearhead that and continue to welcome everyone, no matter gender, race or orientation.

We concluded our talk discussing Matt’s hopes and aspirations for what the MB Lounge could mean to Worcester’s queer community. “I’m excited to see new people, see more diversity for MB. I think going forward, showcasing the different identities that we have in this beautiful city, and bringing them together is what I want MB to be about. If you’re new to the area, I want MB to be that safe space for you to come down, grab a drink, and meet wonderful people”. 

Bio 

Giuliano D’Orazio (he/him) is a Worcester native, musician, music educator, member of the queer community, and a board member of Love Your Labels. 

Email: giulianodoraz@gmail.com 

Instagram: @musicbygiuliano