Commerce Diner (Harrisburg, PA)

Sabrina Dare-Bledsoe was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 1960. She grew up in a large family of entrepreneurs and bar owners, whom she worked alongside as a child and teenager. Her father, Stuart Withero Dare, inherited and ran The Clock Bar from his father George Dare. Her mother, Maureen Goodman, was from England, and lived above The Clock Bar before she met and married Stuart. In this interview, Sabrina talks about The Clock Bar, as well as the many other queer bars and restaurants her family owned, including the Commerce Diner, City Line Diner, The White Elephant, The 400 Club, The Golden Coach, Orpheus, The Rose Garden, and The Candy Shop. She describes the homophobia of her peers and teachers at school and the welcoming environment her family cultivated at work and at home. She tells the story of The Clock Bar’s 1965 raid and the jazz scene her family participated in. Sabrina shares the stories of some of her family’s close friends who frequented the bars and restaurants, many of whom have since passed away.

Julia “Julie” Lobur was born in New Kensington, Pennsylvania in 1955 and moved to Harrisburg in 1970. She received her bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) and received a master’s degree in Computer Science in 2003. Lobur briefly served in the military in 1983, eventually being discharged for being a lesbian, but it was also where she met her wife Marla.

For Lobur, her introduction to the LGBTQ+ community was influenced by the Commerce Diner. Located across the street from the then 400 Club, a LGBTQ+ bar of the time, and adjacent to State Street in Harrisburg, PA, the Commerce Diner catered to LGBTQ+ clientele in the 1970s. The diner eventually closed, and the building was demolished in the late 1980s.

Lobur currently works as a computer architect for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and is an adjunct professor of computer science for Penn State. She resides in Central PA today.