Sugarland

Larry Tee, the DJ and promoter, was among the VIPs at Sugarland's opening at 221 North 9th Street in 2007, and he summed up the makeover of Capone's: “Close down for three days, paint, reopen, and stop serving free pizza”¹.

Capone's had been known for its free pizza and dark decor; Sugarland was immaculate and spacious, with plans to tear out the pizza ovens for a bigger stage¹. Its manager, Troy Carson, who also co-owned Metropolitan, the 'Burg's other gay haunt, said the neighborhood needed a queer performance space, and he programmed an hour of live music on Wednesdays and Fridays¹. Our old review called it the epicenter of the Williamsburg gay scene, with waiters in dress shirts, ties and undies pouring cheap, stiff cocktails for a crowd after a bigger party than Metropolitan had on offer.

By the time it closed in early 2014, Sugarland was the best-known club in the neighborhood².

The address is pink now: pinkFROG, an events space with a pan-Asian cafe and live entertainment, opened there in October 2021^{3, 4}.