Bushwick’s Queer Co-op is Rethinking What a Business Can Be

BOYFRIEND Co-op, a queer bar and cafe co-operative, started as an inside joke between childhood friends Hena Mustafa and Mica Fisher.

Although Mustafa’s background was in film and television development, Fisher had previously worked in small business co-ops in the city. One day about three years ago, the two were joking about developing a “nondescript hypothetical lesbian co-op,” or one of the few bars for lesbians in New York City at that time.

Mustafa, 29, said she would bring up the idea to friends, who all were dissatisfied with the lack of spaces that lesbians had in the city then, even as businesses were reopening after the pandemic.

When a friend asked for more details on this so-called co-op, Mustafa had to concede she was just kidding. Then the friend replied: “I wish you weren't."

Mustafa and Fisher, 30, started to turn their joke into a reality soon after. They recruited cocktail director Kacey Liebes and coffee director Nat Risk (the other two founding members of the co-op), crowdfunded, and developed an online presence.

They soon conducted pop-ups and events that gathered even more interest in the co-op, which opened on Myrtle Avenue in Bushwick in March. 

Despite running into some difficulty running a small business with tariffs and rising costs, Mustafa said that Pride Month has offered a good opportunity for revenue. 

“Pride Month for us has been really grounding, but really experimental,” said Mustafa, who said she had included as many Pride-related and adjacent events as she could this month.

There are four co-founders of the co-op, each with a 25% stake with equal pay and a non-hierarchical decision making process. For Mustafa, one of the benefits to running the business as a co-op is being able to lean on the co-owners, especially as a young, first-time business owner.

The space hosts regular events ranging from cybersecurity classes to workshops teaching guests how to become clowns. This month the co-op threw a themed burlesque and drag variety show, hosted by 29-year old Brie Miskovitz, who is an engineer by day and artist/producer by night. 

Miskovitz has become a regular at BOYFRIEND: she auditions artists to perform for the variety shows, hosts events to raise money for the LGBTQ+ charity New Alternatives and takes advantage of the affordable drinks, including her favorite, the $10 hibiscus cocktail dubbed the Boyfriend Spritz. 

“I love the variety – you can get coffee or you can get a drink, or some food,” Miskoviz said. “They’re trying to do it all.” 

As BOYFRIEND operates as both a bar and a cafe, the space and clientele transforms from day to night. By day, the space is kitschy, lit by metal and glass chandeliers. The bar top and tables are dark wood, and the blue walls, lined with vintage artwork and mirrors, gives the space a whimsical touch. 

“We wanted to be the queer living room of Brooklyn,” said Mustafa. 

By night, the soft lighting turns moody by the evening, and groups of friends are crowded at the tables, drinking cocktails. 

Bushwick resident Anne Pham, 26, is a regular.

“I love that it’s a co-op,” Pham said. “I love that it’s trying to cultivate this sense of equality, between workers and supervisors.” 

With the space operating as a co-op run by and for queer people of color, BOYFRIEND Co-op prioritizes the safety and socialization of anyone queer or trans. Its slogan: “For gay gals and their pals.” 

“I think, weirdly now more than ever, a place like this feels necessary,” Mustafa said.