Where we came from

We began as a one-room bar called the Wawase. The first improvement the new owners, Bill Brown and Dean Gardner, made before opening on July 1st, 1980 was renaming the bar Our Place.

Premiering as the city’s first levi/leather bar, it quickly become known in the community as “O.P.’s”.

Kerry Earhart mops the dance floor in 1990

Bill and Dean spearheaded numerous expansions over the course of the 1980s. With the curve bar/dart room and the dance floor opening before 1990. During these years Dean passed away leaving Bill the sole owner.

In 1992 the business was put up for sale and purchased by Phil Denton and his partner Greg Powers. Right after purchasing the bar, they began the process of upgrading the sound and lighting system to state of the art equipment for its time. Later, the bar was expanded to its final form with the pool room opening.

Phil and Greg shared philanthropic goals, believing that the bar’s success was intertwined with giving back to the community that supported it. Phil once told an employee that if the bar ever reached a point where it couldn’t give back, he would rather shut it down. Fortunately, it never came to that.

Through the 1990’s into the 2000’s O.P.’s became the largest fundraising organization for the AIDS Walk as well as being a major supporter for many other LGBTQ organizations.

Greg Powers (left) & Phil Denton (right)

In 2002 Greg passed away. He was seen as one of the most influential supporters for the community both with his time and money. So, immediately following his passing Phil decided to rename the bar in his honor. The hope was that the name would prompt people to ask “who’s Greg” for years to come. And it worked.

Phil passed away in 2017 leaving ownership of the bar to his longtime partner Mark Condon. It was only the following year that Mark passed away and the future of Gregs was uncertain.