Neighbors claim Wunderbar isn’t wonderful for community

A controversy was stirred up on local social media channels recently over a German Village bar and restaurant, a church, a school, and drag queens.

Columbus officials have cited Wunderbar for violating zoning rules by hosting live entertainment too close to St. Mary Catholic Church and school.

The bar and restaurant regularly hosts presented live music, karaoke, and trivia nights. Recently, they added drag bingo and a drag review to the events calendar.

Delilah Lopez, executive director of the German Village Society, told The Dispatch neighbors of Wunderbar have complained about noise and littering. She added that she believes the bar is “operating a business entertainment lineup illegally.”

However, a Wunderbar subcontractor claimed on social media that the German Village Society had it out for the business.

“They do not think drag is appropriate,” the person wrote on Nina West’s Facebook page. “Silencing the LGBTQ community is not what I believe our city is about.”

The post has since been deleted.

Lopez said the claim is unfounded, writing in a letter, “The German Village Society stands proudly on the shoulders of Columbus LGBTQ+ trailblazers Fred Holdridge and Howard Burns, who built our historic district and our organization to create what they lovingly referred to as Columbus’ first ‘Gayborhood’ — a safe place for the LGBTQ+ community to live, work and play.”

Lopez added that Wunderbar refused to approve a good-neighbor agreement (defined here by Merion Village) last year.

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