Hughes and Solomon-39- and 38-years-old, respectively-launched Lambda Vodka, in 2016, the same year they got married. But their story goes back further: Hughes was sitting at his desk job one day when he looked out his window and saw an ad for Cîroc-the vodka brand famously endorsed by Sean “Diddy” Combs-and thought to himself: “Why doesn’t the LGBT community have a vodka?” Photograph: Lemon Brands Photograph: Lemon Brandsīoth men work full-time for an insurance company and are the sole owners of Lambda Lounge. “We wanted to create a space for our community that you might get in Soho but bring it uptown,” Hughes says. Until government officials allow bars to welcome guests indoors, they plan to open a deck and backyard space on Saturdays between 6-11pm. On Saturday, Hughes and Solomon will officially open Lambda Lounge in Harlem, only the second Black-owned LGBTQ+ bar in New York City. We need to have a gay club, a gay environment that is a safe space for us.” The married couple recalls dancing at a club with friends a few years ago, Solomon says, when the DJ “stopped everything and screamed in the microphone: ‘men don’t dance with men here.’ That struck a nerve with me. When the DJ turned off the music, Charles Hughes and Ricky Solomon knew it was time to start their own bar.