Opulence Drag Lounge + Taqueria — (L to R) Wade Brooks and Scott Charby, owners of Opulence Drag Lounge & Taqueria. (Nathan Watson / Bham Now)

A new bar and restaurant is coming soon to Birmingham’s historic Five Points South neighborhood. Set to open this summer, Opulence Drag Lounge & Taqueria will double as a taco restaurant during the day and an LGBTQ+-friendly bar and event venue in the evenings.

We spoke with owners Scott Charby and Wade Brooks to learn more about the exciting new addition to Five Points South.

New bar + restaurant coming to Five Points South

This year, Five Points South has been abuzz with new and coming-soon businesses like Sauce & Suds and Dobber’s Five Points Pub. It’s one of the biggest reasons why Scott Charby and Wade Brooks chose the historic neighborhood for their new establishment, Opulence.

“When [Wade and I] left Las Vegas last year, we knew two things: we wanted to live in a decent-sized city and we didn’t want to deal with snow. When we arrived in Birmingham, we both looked at each other and said, ‘This feels like home.'”
Scott Charby, Co-owner, Opulence Drag Lounge & Taqueria

While living in Las Vegas, the duo were used to having lots of options for LGBTQ+-friendly spaces; in Birmingham, Scott and Wade saw the void left by the recent closure of Our Place Lounge and The Quest.

“Sadly, Birmingham has lost two very special queer spaces recently. We saw an opportunity to add to the existing footprint of queer spaces in Birmingham.

When we landed on the former Hush Lounge space, it became a two-pronged approach—we can build something that will help this neighborhood bounce back and build a new space for Birmingham’s queer community.”
Scott Charby, Co-owner, Opulence Drag Lounge & Taqueria

Taqueria by day, drag lounge by night

When Opulence opens this summer, Scott and Wade expect the venue to be unlike anything currently in the area—and serving food during the day is a small part of that.

“During the day, Opulence is operating as a taco restaurant—we have a friend coming in from Las Vegas to support us in that endeavor, and she brings a lot of experience with Mexican and Latin cuisine. The concept is simple: fast, delicious, homemade food every single day!”
Scott Charby, Co-owner, Opulence Drag Lounge & Taqueria

In the evening, Opulence will be geared towards nightlife with events like charity dinners, drag Bingo, karaoke and performances. The venue itself will be designed to accommodate a wide variety of drag and other styles of performances, with booths and tables for larger groups, a revamped stage, a 20-foot video wall and a brand-new sound system.

“We want to offer as many different opportunities for our guests as possible. We’ll have drag queens, drag kings, trans performers—you name it! Everyone needs a space where they can feel safe and comfortable to be themselves; that’s all we want to provide.”
Scott Charby, Co-owner, Opulence Drag Lounge & Taqueria

Opulence Drag Lounge & Taqueria to open in Five Points South this summer

Looking forward to enjoying a taco or a drag show at Opulence? You won’t need to wait long—Scott and Wade are aiming to open the new establishment by early June, just in time for Pride Month.

“The Five Points South community has already been so ridiculously supportive. When we put the Opulence banners up, it wasn’t five minutes before we had three or four different local business owners stopped by to tell us how excited they were for something new in the neighborhood.”
Scott Charby, Co-owner, Opulence Drag Lounge & Taqueria

Located at 2012 Magnolia Avenue at Pickwick Place in Five Points South, Opulence will be directly under the popular SLIDE Cafe and near the upcoming Sauce & Suds restaurant.