Phoenix Liquor Board Approved the Barracks Leather Bar License
Phoenix’s Melrose district gayborhood is getting a leather bar. The city’s liquor licensing board approved a license for the Barracks, a new venue opened by nightlife promoter Matthew Moody, after months of hearings, legal filings, and subpoenas triggered by the opposition of his billionaire next-door neighbor.
That neighbor, Stuart Shoen, is an heir to the U-Haul fortune. He bought his property after Moody had already established plans for the bar. Despite knowing the bar was coming, Shoen formally opposed the liquor license application earlier this year, setting off a drawn-out legal process that left the Barracks project in limbo for months, according to Phoenix New Times reporting cited by LGBTQ Nation.
“He had no problem buying next to a bar. He only had an issue when he found out it was going to be a gay leather bar.”
Matthew Moody, owner, the Barracks, July 2026
Shoen’s attorney denied the objection was about LGBTQ themes, pointing instead to the history of the original Barracks in Palm Springs, California. That bar closed in 2024 after a sting operation found it operating as an unlicensed sex club with documented violations. Shoen’s legal team quoted the investigation’s finding of “numerous patrons in as many as 60 separate instances” engaging in prohibited conduct on the premises.
Phoenix Police initially denied a recommendation for the license, citing the same history. The scrutiny had a partial effect. Moody’s original co-owner, Richard “Scott” Murchison, who purchased the Phoenix property and had ties to the Palm Springs bar, withdrew from co-ownership and now acts only as the landlord.
Moody says the new ownership structure separates the Phoenix bar from California’s legal problems. The board agreed.
The Barracks name carries real weight in the leather community. Along with “Eagle” and “Anvil,” it is one of the community’s historically recognized venue names. Moody’s new Phoenix location includes artwork by Tom of Finland, a foundational figure in leather and gay male visual culture, positioned to welcome patrons once construction finishes.
LGBTQ bars have closed at a steady rate nationally for decades. In Phoenix, the Melrose district represents one of the few urban areas in Arizona where LGBTQ nightlife is actively growing. Wealthy neighbors using licensing processes to block LGBTQ venues is a pattern that rarely gets legal attention. Here, sustained pushback worked.
What You Can Do Now
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Contact the Phoenix City Council at (602) 262-7029 and ask members to establish formal non-discrimination protections in the city’s business licensing review process so that LGBTQ identity cannot be used as grounds for opposition. Name-check the Barracks case specifically.
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Call Arizona state legislators through the Capitol switchboard at (602) 926-3559 and ask your representative to support state-level protections for LGBTQ business owners facing discriminatory licensing challenges. Find your legislator at azleg.gov.
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Contact the National LGBTQ Bar Association at [email protected] and ask what legal resources exist for LGBTQ business owners who face neighbor-driven licensing opposition campaigns. The Barracks case demonstrates the need for pro bono legal pipeline support.
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If you are in Phoenix, attend a Phoenix City Council public comment session (schedule at phoenix.gov/council) and speak in favor of zoning and licensing policies that protect LGBTQ-owned small businesses in the Melrose district.
Sources
LGBTQ Nation: Phoenix Leather Bar Wins Liquor License After Billionaire Neighbor’s Objections
Phoenix New Times: Coverage of the Barracks Licensing Hearings and Legal Filings
National LGBTQ Bar Association: Legal Resources for LGBTQ Business Owners
[Quote: “He had no problem buying next to a bar. He only had an issue when he found out it was going to be a gay leather bar.”, Matthew Moody, Barracks owner.
LGBTQ Nation]