An inside scoop on the opening of *Curious*.
It’s a sunny Monday when I knock on the door of Hafnarstræti 4 to meet Ragnhildur Holm, the manager of Reykjavík’s newest queer space, Curious.
If you know this address, you’ll also know it has housed many bars and cafes in the past, most notably drenched in yellow under the name Tivoli bar. Or maybe you know this house by one of it’s other monikers like Dolly, The Smoking Puffin, Boxið, or Vintage Box. Although the whole house is under renovation, Ragnhildur or Ragga as she is called assures me that this time there’s something truly curious brewing within.
Maybe you know Ragga from the hip hop scene or as one of the daughters Reykjavíkurdætur. Now, she’s ready to be a business owner and be her own boss. I sat down to chat with her about what’s motivating the opening of this new space.
She tells me how for Curious to be successful the entire house needed to be renovated from the floor to the ceiling. The house’s yellow facade got a facelift with a cool shade of gray-blue. The large TIVOLI sign that used to adorn the front has been removed and no trace of a smoking puffin remains.
Downstairs will be a cafe and restaurant space during the day with plenty of treats to enjoy, rolling out over the first few weeks of opening. Upstairs another bar will serve a larger dancing, DJ, and performance area. Even the upstairs patio has been upgraded for smokers.
“… we want to be bold in saying this is a space made by and for queer locals.”
Our conversation got me thinking: why open a gay/queer bar in Reykjavík? Don’t we already have one? Ragga confirms, yes and no. “I think what Reykajvík needs is a place for queer locals to go, hang out, and feel at home. Of course we’ll always welcome allies and others into the space, but we want to be bold in saying this is a space made by and for queer locals.”
Ragga hopes to create a safe space for all of the LGBTQ+ community to gather, host events, and party.
Curious is set to open tentatively the first weekend of July, starting the 4th. The cafe will have regular hours from Monday to Sunday, about 11:00 to 1:00. Upstairs will be more of a bar and dance club open for the weekends from Thursday to Sunday until 3:00.
Stay tuned for more news about the opening of Curious!