Meow Mix

269 East Houston Street

Meow Mix

Location: 269 East Houston Street, New York, New York, USA

Opened: 1996

Closed: July 2004

After managing the lesbian band Tribe 8 and developing a reputation for throwing "gay friendly parties" in the mid 1990s, Brooke Webster decided to buy her own place in the East Village. The result was the Meow Mix. Despite its "divey" location, it soon became the "hottest place for the city's chic young lesbians to drink and hook up."

Here's an old review from nyny.com:
 

Ladies often bemoan the limited number of bars dedicated to the woman-loving woman and with the disproportionate number of boy bars, they have every right to complain. Nevertheless, Meow Mix with its never-got-over-riot-grrrl-grunge is hot nearly every night of the week. Lipstick lesbians and butch drag queens swarm the dance floor or rock on as live acts perform.

And here's how Clubplanet once reviewed it:

Well-known downtown lesbian bar. Despite its role in Kevin Smith's "Chasing Amy," Meow Mix has managed to maintain its alterna-girl edge thanks to cheap drinks and cheaper girls. Sashay down anytime to catch some weird act, feminist empowerment speakers or someone intentionally amusing. Still one of the most popular and famous lesbian bars in town.

For those who may not remember it, "Chasing Amy" (1997) was a romantic comedy starring Ben Affleck, Jason Lee, and Joey Lauren Adams, and included many scenes filmed inside the Meow Mix.

In 2004, Meow Mix closed, apparently due to "flooding, city harrassment, and a shift in the neighborhood demographics."

Webster went on to open Cattyshack in the summer of 2005, which became a popular lesbian danceclub in its own right. The new club was located at 249 Fourth Street in Brooklyn. But it is gone now as well.