“The energy as soon as you walk in the door, people say they feel that energy. “We put our love into this bar, and people feel it,” Riddle, 41, said. The first night was “packed,” according to the owners, and business hasn’t slowed since.

in the Andersonville section of Chicago - known informally as “Girlstown” for its once-booming lesbian community - in late May. Nobody’s Darling officially opened its doors at 1744 W. “That’s what we’ve been trying to create.” Nobody’s Darling, as it is now called, “is built to be welcoming,” Barnes, 52, told NBC News.