The space has been a dedicated pillar of the community for five years but now is set to close
A coffee shop and clothes and gifts store in Cardiff will be closing later this year, its owner has announced. The Queer Emporium on St Mary Street in the city centre, which is an LGBTQ+ space, has been open for five years at the St Mary Street entrance to the Royal Arcade.
On Wednesday the owner of the QE, Yan White, said they had to make the decision to close in the summer due to rising costs. Yan said he hopes they’ll be able to find a new location elsewhere in the city.
The QE was a pop-up which then turned into a three-month lease and then was a permanent fixture on Cardiff’s high street for five years. Never miss a Cardiff story by signing up to our daily newsletter here
Yan said in a social media post: “Sadly as I’m sure that we all know it’s not a great time for the high street and that is true for us as a small LGBTQ non-profit.
“Trade is struggling to keep up with inflation. Costs are going up faster than we can plan for and it just isn’t sustainable to continue running a city centre operated site in these conditions.
“This has resulted in me and my partner often having to go without pay and if it wasn’t for the support of friends and family we wouldn’t have realistically made it this far. So a massive thank you to all of them.”
Yan said there is an “economic reality” and he didn’t want to “compromise on our ethics” by staying open at St Mary Street. He added: “I don’t want that to take away from the incredible impact that I know we’ve had. That we can see the shoppers had on the community, but we also need to acknowledge that there is this economic reality before us.
“I’ve made the decision, rather than compromise on any of our ethics, making sure our team has always been paid at least in line with the living wage foundation’s rates, making sure we pay acts and artists as best we can, and keeping our commission on sales as low as possible.”
Yan said energy prices have doubled for the shop in the last five years. He added: “To give you an idea of how seriously we take all of our ethics, I even emailed all of the major coffee syrup companies right at the beginning. To ensure that we were only using ones that had an ethically sourced sugar policy.
“This all worked in 2021, but since opening we’ve seen our energy bills double, insurance premiums increased by thousands of pounds, wage bills jump and service charges keep going up.
“This isn’t to say that none of these increased costs are not justified, it’s a chain reaction and we understand that we’re one part of that. To carry on we would need to pass those increased costs on to you, our customers, which we don’t really want to do when we already simply aren’t getting enough people through the door at the moment anyway.
“For a lot of our events the market for queer shows in Cardiff has become increasingly populated which has been incredible to see in Cardiff and I think it’s a testament to the abilities of the community, but it does make it more difficult to attract and maintain audiences to make what we’re doing viable.
“The high labour cost to convert a shopping arcade to a performance space also means it isn’t feasible to carry on and be able to compete against bigger and better funded institutions.”
Yan explained that it isn’t all bad news, as they will still be hosting a series a shows across Wales and the rest of the UK and they will be doing pop-ups at various events. He also shared that they are in talks to develop a new space away from Cardiff’s city centre.
“Now that the sad bit’s been said, here’s a less sad note. The Queer Emporium is going to continue in a different format. We’re collaborating with numerous venues throughout Cardiff to carry on our community events and our gigs, so after we close, please look out for them,” he revealed.
“They’ll still be advertised on here and on our website, so look for them there. Marm’s Spotlight and Queer Comedy will visit cities around Wales and the rest of the UK.
“So if you’re not based in Cardiff, please look out because they might be coming to a location near you. We’ll also be doing pop-ups at Prides and other events. So if see us out and about, please come support us because we always love seeing you.
“The most exciting news is that we’re also in talks to develop a new space. It’s larger, it’s accessible, and it even has an outdoor space, but it is away from the city centre.
“We’re very far off that being ready to be open for you, but we will share more information as and when the wheels move on that. In the meantime, we will be here until late August 2026, so please come and visit, attend events, buy items and support local queer businesses. “
Followers have shared their support and fond memories of the QE. Welsh drag act and RuPaul’s Drag Race UK star Catrin Feelings commented: “The best five years! Cardiff is so fortunate to have the Queer Emporium! Diolch am bopeth! Thank you for everything!”
Fellow Drag Race star Marmalade said: “So much love to the Queer Emporium team. Can’t tell you how grateful I am to you for your constant support you have shown me. Cardiff is so lucky to have had you for the past five years.”
Drag king Jord Dropper added: “You’ve achieved so many great things in the past 5 years, and become a pillar safe space for Cardiff and beyond! I’m excited to see where your new ventures may take you.”
