The story begins in 1971, when young lesbian musician Petie Brown took a bartending job at Jack’s A Go-Go in Columbus and word quickly spread that a lesbian was behind the bar. A decade later, Brown bought the place, renamed it Summit Station and transformed it into a haven for lesbians and their friends at a time when openly queer spaces were rare. For more than four decades, the bar became a social hub where people could drink, dance, flirt, organize—and simply be themselves.

Filmmakers Julia Applegate and LuSter Singleton, both former Summit Station patrons, bring that history vividly to life through funny, moving and sometimes surprising firsthand stories. Musicians, feminist activists, professional women’s football players, bartenders, drag kings and pioneering LGBTQ+ legal scholar Rhonda R. Rivera recall a place that was equal parts neighborhood bar, community center and chosen family. Their memories reveal not only how much fun was had there, but how essential spaces like Summit Station were to queer survival, visibility and connection.

Affectionate, spirited and rich with LGBTQ+ history, Free Beer Tomorrow raises a glass to the bars that gave us a place to belong—and to the people determined to make sure their stories aren’t forgotten.