Bretz Bar

How things have changed since the 80s when this place first opened.
I loved to dance here with my friends in the 80’s. Nice gay mens bar.
Seeing my friends and I are now well into our 40s and a couple decades past the age this bar was intended for hadn’t been there in years and decided to check it out for a drink.
A lot more straights than gays and a ton of female’s. Definitely not the gay boys bar it was intended to be by the original owner Greg who passed a few years ago.

Very cheap drinks. It’s good to have a place like this in Toledo. Music is usually right on point, and the shows are always really funny. Unfortunately, it’s not the place to hold casual conversations unless you go outside which is usually filled with smokers. It’s a fun time regardless. Very packed and high energy on Thursdays.

At this moment in time I am giving them 3 stars. This can go up or down depending upon my next two visits which will be totally unannounced. We had to leave early due to one of the members of our party falling sick. That said, i tend to arrive at open of a bar and close to get the FULL VIEW of a club and then post back. So this will only be a partial review and a full review will be posted later. Is it fair to write a review when you were only at a club for 2 hours. YES but it will be updated and can rise or fall. Hopefully the owners can take both positive and constructive criticism/​reviews.
Bartender=A+, She was very police and professional, gave me all the info i needed and didnt even know at the time i was posting multiple review of this club.
Area=D+, this area like most has taken severe hits due to the economy and has not recovered very well, and in this persons opinion the area has gone downhill since many years ago, partially due to city management and the other half due to the economy. Due we fault a bar for that reason-​NO but a person wants to be safe in the club they are going to, so to see not one but TWO security guards is a little concerning. Most security at clubs, you have one visible and established and the rest are not seen or heard unless an issue.
Décor-C+Recently remodeled like 2 years ago, comfortable seating if you get there early, they even have a stripper pole bar (really), i was kinda surprised even took pictures and video but didnt let on how shocked i was at a stripper pole. The cage/​bar area was kinda nice, however i think that if you are going to do something u dont do it half assed, you go all the way. Maybe they ran out of budget? Seats are nice, plush and comfortable, there is even a back patio to smoke, talk and possibly drink if the bar gets fall (which i wonder about). The security camera on top of the door did not surprise me but gave more credence to the Area review which got a low score. Huge dance floor which is a definite plus if you actually have a lot of people to dance on it.
Hours of Operation-​For the moment i am going to hold off on a score for this, only because i need to see more to comment and post, but when we arrived at 10 PM there was only us 4 for about nearly 2 hours. I think the economy may have hurt the happy hour crowds, but i also thing this is a business opportunity they may be missing out on including Tea Parties if done correctly.
Shows-​Pending Review
Crowd-​Pending Review-​But i will note that the initiate crow that showed up was NOT EYE CANDY and sure as hell as not 20 or 30 something 50 something maybe.
Drinks-​A+, they got solid marks for this to start off and it continued, will review this gain later, but they were solid drinks at great prices and can run bar tabs with your credit card.
Cover Charge-​$ 3.00 for the drag show, I will hold off on review. However I am going to comment that it can be one of several things to charge cover, one of which is desperation and need money, the other is that its a Saturday and they want to make more money so greedy owners, the other is that for Ohio, its standard policy and is worth it, I will follow up on this more later because it could also be outside performers that charge and not that i am knocking drag queens for charging cover, because honey we all need to make those coins, but the question becomes where does the cover go, if it goes solidly to the owner without paying the show personnel then the score will definitely plummet on this so for the moment no grade.
OVERALL-​PENDING REVIEW.
Additional Review postings-​San Francisco Chronicle and San Francisco Examiner as well as B.A.R. will not be posted until a full review is done.

I love Bretz! I’ve been on numerous Thursday’s so can really only comment on that night. It’s CRAZY on Thursdays. As it should be since drinks are $ 1. Everything is $ 1. The people are nice, well mixed and the patio is well sized and partially covered if raining. The drag show was fun but even LOUDER than the music. (I’ve never felt older than when typing this sentence.) Even the bathrooms are nice and clean. However, on Thursdays the bar is ALWAYS trashed. Things spilled all over it, things stuck to it. It’s gross. I know its because of how busy they are but I hate getting something on my every time I order a drink if I dare to touch the bar. So four stars, one off because of the effect of cheap drinks… which is not a bad reason to lose a star. :)

For the longest time, Bretz was the only gay dance club in Toledo. The décor reminds me of that late 80’s/early 90’s period with heavy use of glass blocks.
I have had a good time at Bretz. The music is good and the drinks are cheap (compared to other cities at least). There is a decent sized dance floor which encouraging dancing.
Overall, a decent time for queers in the City of Glass.

Ah, Bretz the Bar! How I remember driving nearly an hour to party with the coolest cats in NWOhio. And to try and swipe their glassware. Although I haven’t been back in about 3 years, I still remember it as a great place to dance, hear awesome music, bump up against hotties and start a memorable reputation.

On this spot the legend of Dangerous Kevin was born. Not to mention, my sick devotion to Erasure was born here too. Incongruity is my game. DJ Kyle used to play a good hour’s worth of Erasure back in the day. I would lurk in the darkest possible corner drinking Michelob Dry. I thought I was looking edgy and seductive; turns out everyone thought I was a serial killer and I had a secret, widely acknowledged nickname I didn’t know about. Now I’m only dangerous to sticks of butter. 4 stars for the memories…