The Uptown Connection bar and restaurant operated from October 1981 until 1989, serving primarily the LGBTQ+ community. A corporation of former owners of the Varsity Lounge, another successful LGBTQ+ bar in Indianapolis, opened Uptown Connection.  

The Uptown Connection served lunch and dinner, Sunday brunches, and themed buffets on Fridays. However, it was better known as a bar and was a staple of the 1980s LGBTQ+ nightlife scene in Indianapolis. The bar regularly hosted drag events, dances, musicians, and DJs. On special nights, bar patrons could participate in euchre tournaments, see live comedy, or compete in pageants. The Works, a local LGBTQ+ magazine, regularly marketed these events and listed the venue in its map of LGBTQ+ businesses clustered within the Old Northside and Talbott Street neighborhoods of Indianapolis.  

Ron Furman, manager of Uptown Connection, purchased the venue from the original owners on February 1, 1985. Furman made minor renovations to the building, including the addition of an arcade, but kept much of the original menu and staff.  

Three men stand together in a bar. Other bar patrons are in the background.
Uptown owner Ron Furman with two patrons, 1987 Credit: Chris Gonzalez GLBT Archives, Indiana University Indianapolis View Source

Under Furman’s ownership, however, Uptown Connection became more involved in community events and gave direct support to local LGTBQ+ activism. From 1985 to 1989, the bar frequently catered or sponsored events for local organizations like Justice, Inc., Collective Community Resources, and the Greater Indianapolis Gay Business Association (GIGBA). Notably, Uptown Connection sponsored the annual Gay and Lesbian Pride Brunch beginning in 1986, the GIGBA Labor Day Picnic in 1987, and the Stonewall Riot memorial event at Westlake Park in 1989.  

The Uptown Connection also supported its community members directly. For example, on February 6, 1987, Uptown Connection hosted a benefit performance and raised money to aid Ronnie Russell, a popular local drag performer undergoing medical treatment. Every year, the bar also sponsored a contestant for the annual Miss Gay Indiana competition, including the 1986 winner, Jamie Douglas. 

Two people in drag play pool.
Drag performers play pool at Uptown Connection, 1987 Credit: Chris Gonzalez GLBT Archives, Indiana University Indianapolis View Source

The venue’s proximity to Monument Circle, a popular gathering spot for LGTBQ+ community members in the early 1980s, facilitated foot traffic between Uptown Connection and the Circle. The increased presence of LGBTQ+ around the Circle caused anxiety among some Indianapolis residents in the area, prompting them to file complaints about the alleged loitering to the Indianapolis Police Department (IPD), which reacted by beginning extensive nightly patrols in the downtown area in October 1982. 

Tension between the IPD and LGBTQ+ users of the area, many of whom frequented Uptown Connection, escalated over the next two years, culminating in a tense summer conflict between the IPD and LGBTQ+ activists in 1984. (See Gay Knights on the Circle.) 

The Uptown Connection changed ownership multiple times before Thomas Mitchell purchased the venue from Jack Wharton and changed its name to Brothers Bar and Grill in 1989. Closing briefly for renovations, the venue reopened on July 27, 1989, with a new Southwestern-style decor and rebranding. The venue remained a prominent fixture for Indianapolis’s LGBTQ+ nightlife throughout the 1990s. The venue changed ownership again in 1999, rebranding as Downtown Olly’s while continuing to serve a largely LGBTQ+ customer base. 

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Revised June 2025
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