The bar and venue previously known as Tabu was recently sold to Stephen Carlino and business partner Randal Mrazik, who intend to make the establishment more of a restaurant than the sports bar it’s been for 14 years. The new owners, who also own Tavern on Camac and U Bar, aim to continue focusing on LGBTQ+ patrons and are calling the venue a new name — 254, reflecting the street address, 254 S 12th St.
The change in ownership comes almost a year after conversations about censorship and freedom of expression dominated the Gayborhood at the end of 2023 following an incident at Tabu.
In December, Leila Delicious — a queer, Palestinian artist — was barred from entering or performing at the venue due to a pro-Palestine sign she’d hoped to include in her act. Following a highly criticized response from Tabu’s then-owners — which included a meeting with performers which many claimed missed the mark, entertainers and patrons boycotted the establishment. Shows were canceled, long-standing relationships ended, and a protest took place.
Many who avoided Tabu during the immediate fallout following the incidents have continued to do so. And now that the establishment is officially under new management, some are reflecting about what the change might mean for them.
Rumors and confusion are also influencing patrons and performers who don’t have a clear understanding about whether or not Carlino was previously involved — directly or not — with Tabu.
“The goal is to undertake a revitalization of the whole neighborhood with the opening of this bar,” Jeff Sotland — one of Tabu’s owners — told the Philadelphia Inquirer in 2018, when he bought iCandy and relocated Tabu into the space.
At the time, he explained that his hopes for Tabu were “to bring people back to the neighborhood who had left because they didn’t feel it was a safe space.”
According to an article published in 2018 by PhillyVoice, Carlino, who was sold the building (254 S 12th St) by iCandy’s previous owner at that same time, was not sold the business. However, the article notes that “Tabu will officially own the building” after the deal is complete and noted Carlino as “at [sic] Sotland partner at Tabu.” The unfortunate typo makes the connection to Tabu unclear — but the sentence appears to link Carlino with Sotland as Tabu partners. However, the details of that partnership are not explained.
Some community members worry that Carlino might have been a silent partner in the business and now want answers about if or how Carlino or Mrazik were ever involved in Tabu — including during last year’s fallout, even if they weren’t managing operations at the bar.
Some worry that the sale of the business might make Carlino a more visible owner but that the same group will still quietly profit from the business without ever having to be accountable for past mistakes.
“It feels like they’re rebranding to clear the negative connotation,” said Mew Ikki, a young, eclectic drag queen and Turkish immigrant who underlined that this might be more about money than about trying to change the culture of the venue. “With everything that’s happened in the past, we’re still a little skeptical about it.”
She called the issue with Leila Delicious a “last straw” after years of failing to take accountability for “sketchy” behavior, discrimination, and abuses of power, underlining that the new owners need to be aware of the venue’s past and intentional about tangible actions and efforts to move in a new direction.
“All we want is good pay, a stage to perform on, and safety — but Tabu has failed at all of that,” said Mew Ikki, emphasizing that a dialogue between performers and owners is a necessary starting point. “I’m hoping 254 can maybe do it — but a lot of us are skeptical and don’t feel welcome there.”
Many want to hear directly from Carlino and Mrazik, who the Philadelphia Inquirer named as the new owners, and see intentional efforts to right the venue’s past wrongs before they decide how to engage with the space.
“We have not seen public, constructive steps taken to resolve the harm done through these actions,” reads a statement sent to PGN by Henn House Events, LLC — a drag troupe that cut ties with the venue last year.
“Henn House Events maintain its decision in abstaining from event producing, performing, promoting or any collaborative capacity with 254 until it publicly acknowledges the situation that led up to its change in ownership and what transparent, meaningful actionable steps they plan to commit to in order to create tangible changes to protect and do better by its patrons, producers and performers,” their statement continues.
“Tabu has a long history of abuse and that can’t simply be erased with new ownership,” said Rexxi — a nonbinary drag and burlesque artist who accused previous owners of firing trans people, tolerating abusers, and banning those who spoke up during the 2023 protest.
The site was previously known as iCandy — a bar that also closed following controversy after iCandy’s owner was caught using a racist slur. The bar was sold to new owners who converted the business into Tabu.
Rexxi said they’ll wait to see if and how the new owners of 254 prove they’re trustworthy before they consider cautiously re-entering the space. They underlined that many performers have “done the hard work” over this past year to find and establish new connections in order to provide and experience safer nightlife experiences.
Xiomara Villa, a queer Latina drag queen, went to Tabu for a memorial show honoring the life of Daelicious O’hare Mizani, a drag performer who died under mysterious circumstances in May 2024. Although she otherwise hasn’t been a patron or performer at the location since December 2023, she said being back in the space brought up a lot of feelings about what it might be like to spend time there again.
“I just don’t know if I’ve seen enough from Tabu — now, 254 — indicating that it is a safe space for performers,” she noted — explaining that at the very least, she’d like to read a public statement made by the new owners acknowledging what’s happened in the past, showing that they truly understand what needs to change moving forward, and reflecting a clearer desire to respect and protect performers.
She worries the new owners might repeat history — even accidentally — if they don’t do enough to learn about what’s happened and take intentional steps to combat those patterns.
“I just want to see this being a space that shows that they care for these drag performers and they care for the queer community,” Xiomara Villa said. “That they’re taking care of the performers and respect the art and they want to support us as people as best as possible.”
Multiple performers — including those who preferred not to be named — told PGN that they’d personally witnessed or been victims of problematic, concerning and abusive behavior at Tabu.
A former performer who preferred not to be named said she doesn’t believe the culture of the space has changed since she left multiple years ago — before the most recent controversy. She noted that it will take significant work to achieve but hopes the new owners approach the past by establishing new, community-centered goals.
She worries about out-of-towners, performers who are new to the scene, or young LGBTQ+ people who are seeking community and might accidentally end up in a place that isn’t as safe as others.
A former patron who preferred not to be named said he isn’t ready to dine at 254 just yet but is eagerly waiting in anticipation.
He’s also hoping to hear directly from the new owners but also said he’ll watch for news shared by local performers, who he believes understand “what really matters about what’s going on behind-the-scenes” better than patrons. He urged others to do the same.
One performer, who preferred not to be named due to concerns of job security, said that they support Leila Delicious and those who made the decision to leave Tabu last year but personally stayed due to financial constraint.
They’re optimistic about the new owners and believe there’s positive change coming, but underlined a hope that Carlino and Mrazik will listen to the concerns that the community has raised and communicate how they intend to create an environment that’s different from the past.
“There’s still a need for accountability,” they said, while noting their excitement over the possibility of a better future.
Stephen Carlino, Randal Mrazik, and The Tavern Group have not yet responded to requests for comment.