Support Seattle’s LGBTQ-Owned Businesses
The products listed here were selected by a member of the editorial staff. Should you choose to purchase a product through a link on this page, we may receive an affiliate commission.
Rainbow capitalism (n.) 1. Pandering to the LGBTQ community, often with rainbow merchandise and LinkedIn avatars—and typically exclusively during Pride Month—in order to make a profit or advance a business interest. 2. Not these local businesses.
Looking for a way to directly support Seattle’s queer community (and maybe even get some rainbow cupcakes out of the deal)? We’ve compiled a list of some LGBTQ-owned businesses in town that stay gay even when July 1 rolls around.
This list is not exhaustive—but we'd like to get a little closer! Please reach out to [email protected] with any suggestions for businesses we should feature.
Baas Framing Studio
madison valley
Seattleites entrust the expert framers at this LGBTQ- and woman-owned Madison Valley shop with framing some seriously precious cargo, from an original powdered wig to a set of Hermes scarves.
Bang
VARIOUS LOCATIONS
A gender-affirming, centrally located salon with stylists who get that you want a turquoise mullet, not an aqua shag.
Big Little News
capitol hill
Shelves stocked with indie magazines, a fridge stocked with indie beer—print is living in this new-this-year Capitol Hill newsstand co-owned by Queer/Bar’s Joey Burgess.
Bite Society
SOUTH LAKE UNION
Clever, thoughtfully sourced, food-based gift baskets that look more at home in a boutique market than a corporate boardroom.
Bootyland Kids
CAPITOL HILL
Everything in this shop's carefully curated inventory—stainless steel nesting lunch box kits, organic wool diaper covers, wooden mixing boards for the tiniest DJs, and, of course, plenty of rainbows—passes the environmentally conscious criteria set by the hip moms at the helm of this ship.
Coopers Optique
LOWER QUEEN ANNE
Zac Cooper's niche vision for a truly boutique eyewear shop dedicated to eye-catching, can't-find-it-elsewhere frames comes to life in this brightly lit space across from Climate Pledge Arena. During Pride Month, Coopers Optique offers its high-fashion frames at a discount for members of the LGBTQ community.
Crystallography Gems
GEORGETOWN
Self-described "crystal wizard and professional weirdo" Michelle Ferris runs a metaphysical shop that couldn't be more down-to-earth, with an entirely LGBTQ management team and a space so welcoming that it once played host to a lesbian proposal.
Doll Parts Collective
west seattle
Cofounder Alyssa Kaliszewski’s passion for sourcing gender- and size-inclusive vintage clothing colors the selection at this West Seattle shop: “I'm plus-size, and also bisexual, and wanted to find a way to offer vintage clothing for folks that are like me,” Kaliszewski says. “Folks who don't necessarily follow the normal gender prescription of what people should wear.”
Indian Summer
capitol hill
Indian Summer sits on a corner in residential Capitol Hill, a jewelry box of slinky ’60s dresses and shimmery ’90s crop tops nestled next to a convenience store with a bright red Coca-Cola sign. Look here—and at the shop's Instagram page, full of fabulous clothing on a variety of equally fabulous bodies—for a size-inclusive lineup of the glam finds that drew you to vintage in the first place.
Peace, Love, and Happiness Club
fREMONT
With a houseplant outpost in its tiny Fremont storefront and an enormous, tropical, warehouse-style space for rare varieties just down the street, the shop run by Neil Silverman and his green-thumb partner has grown into the best spot in Seattle—maybe the nation—for collector's plants.
Proto101
Downtown, bellevue square
Designer Rafael Soto's comfy closet essentials were built to end our reliance on fast fashion: Lounge-worthy but flattering T-shirts, joggers, sweatshirts, and more are made from sustainably sourced fabrics in a color selection—and at a price point—that rivals the biggest athleisure brands.
Repair Revolution
SODO
This isn’t your typical auto shop. With a mostly queer, trans, and female staff, Repair Revolution and founder Eli Allison combat the boys club of auto repair. The car maintenance shop offers diagnosis, service, and repair on all makes and models, and holds workshops on car-owning basics.
Rudy’s Barbershop
VARIOUS LOCATIONS
Seattle’s legendary queer-owned barbershop, founded in 1993 by David Petersen and Wade Weigel, now boasts over a dozen locations—including one in Manhattan!—where you can get a beer, and a safe, gender-affirming experience, with your buzz cut.
Saltstone Ceramics
WALLINGFORD
A ceramics studio works double duty as a shop of striking-but-useful planters, mugs, and glassware from artists in Seattle and beyond.
Seattle Plant Daddy
wallingford
Come for the personality—Wallingford's plant purveyor more than lives up to his name with suggestive plant selfies, branded booty shorts, and the elusive Penis Cactus (Trichocereus bridgesii). Stay for plants of all varieties that are so obviously loved.
TomboyX
ONLINE
Founded by married couple Fran Dunaway and Naomi Gonzalez to address a lack of gender-neutral underthings, TomboyX has since morphed into a worldwide outfit with cute, comfortable cuts for every body.
Tribal Electric LLC
SEATTLE AREA
Queer-Owned Bars, Restaurants, and More
Seattle has no shortage of proudly queer-owned eateries (and they're just the place to celebrate Pride). Here are a few we love:
- Broadcast Coffee, various locations
- Cupcake Royale, various locations
- Dough Joy, Capitol Hill and West Seattle (word to the wise, they've got a year-round, edible-glitter-topped Pride donut)
- The Flora Bakehouse, Beacon Hill
- The Lumber Yard, White Center
- Marination, various locations
- Queer/Bar, Capitol Hill
- Skål Beer Hall, Ballard
- Stoup Brewing, Ballard
- Temple Pastries, Central District
- Two Doors Down, Madison Valley and Pioneer Square
- The Velvet Elk, Mount Baker