Tacky's (Fort Lauderdale Gay Bar/1979-1994)

Tacky’s in Fort Lauderdale was a cornerstone of the city’s gay nightlife, best known for its edgy beach-bar scene in the early 1980s. It wasn’t just a bar—it sat next to an adult bookstore and featured a notorious backroom swing lubricated with a Crisco can on the floor, where wild afternoons and late-night revelry blurred together . A 2021 Reddit memory recalls:

“There was a club in Fort Lauderdale called TACKYS that had a backroom swing that was popular. With a large can of Crisco on the floor next to the swing.”

Part of a raucous beach-town gay culture that included places like Backstreet and Marlin Beach Hotel, Tacky’s embodied the raw freedom of its era. Though the bar has long since closed, its legend lingers in stories of sun-soaked afternoons and renegade nights—a relic of Fort Lauderdale's unapologetic queer heyday.

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Bella + Canvas 3001 UNISEX JERSEY SHORT SLEEVE TEE

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