ORLANDO, Fla. — It’s a somber day for many in the Central Florida LGBTQ community.

What You Need To Know

  • Parliament House in Orlando has been open for more than 45 years

  • The owners said on Facebook that they could not find financing to renovate the property 

  • The business will close the doors at its North OBT location for good on Monday

After being opened for over 45 years Parliament House will close its doors on North OBT for good Monday.

On the Parliament House Facebook page, the owners announced the closure came about due to financing issues.

"We put up a good fight over the last 11 months to secure financing and renovate our existing property," they said in a Facebook post. "Unfortunately, that fight ended today with no deal."

Bartender and performer Loc Robertson has been a long-time employee at Parliament House.

“This is the place I have been going to work at for 25 years,” Robertson said. 

He is also known by the stage name “April Fresh,” and whether it’s poring a drink or performing on stage, Robertson said Parliament House closing is a big deal to him.

“Its been a part of my life for so many years,” he said. “More than half of my life I have been bartending at the same station for all these years.”

The Parliament House has impacted many over the years, so much so it has become world renowned for producing performers.

“Drag queens are coming out of Orlando and becoming famous around the world,“ Frommer’s Easy Guide to Orlando author Jason Cochran said. “A lot of them got their starts there.”

And yet, the place where some got a start is now seeing its own story come to an end.

“Its interesting that at this moment when gay pride is being exported from Orlando, the places where it was born in Orlando are now going away,” Cochran said. “They are just not sustainable in this economic climate.”

The Parliament House may be a landmark for the LBGTQ community and regulars were anyone and everyone.

“Just as the LGBTQ community is comfortable going to what we are going to call a straight establishment, there straight people are also comfortable coming here,” Robertson said in the performers dressing room. 

Last call is this Sunday before doors officially close Monday.

The Parliament House has about 100 employees right now, but the owners did say in the Facebook post that they hope to make an announcement in a few weeks about Parliament House's future.