Cheer Up Charlies has been sold to an investment firm focused on LGBTQ+ entertainment properties.
As part of the deal with Pride Holdings, Maggie Lea and Tamara Hoover stepped down as owners of the Red River venue, although they will remain in leadership positions.
“We’re excited to have a parent company that stabilizes us,” Lea said Tuesday. “Our missions aligned, and we felt that this was an amazing stroke of luck and fate.”
Pride Holdings has been acquiring and managing queer venues, including bars and nightclubs in Chicago, Cincinnati and Florida, where the company is based.
“Cheer Up Charlie’s isn’t just a bar—it’s a symbol of community, resilience, and celebration,” Pride Holdings CEO Mike Barrett said in a statement. “We’re honored to carry forward its incredible legacy while giving it the resources to grow and thrive. This acquisition reflects our commitment to preserving the soul of LGBTQ+ spaces while elevating them to new levels of visibility, impact, and profitability.”
Lea said Cheer Up Charlies would become a franchised brand and expand to other cities in Texas by mid-2026. She said she was excited about that and wants “it to live on for as long as possible.”
The venue has faced years of financial difficulties particularly during the pandemic, Lea said. Over the summer, she warned supporters they were behind $58,000 on rent and would be forced to close if they could not come up with the money. The owners launched a fundraising campaign and were able to raise the money in 24 hours.
Lea said Pride Holdings saw the fundraiser and reached out to say it was buying up bars to save them from closure. The idea, she said, was to “create a bigger group to have a voice” and stop the “push toward silencing” LGBTQ+ and marginalized communities.
She said she and Hoover felt the pitch was authentic and began negotiations with Pride last month.
