Richmond mourns Babes of Carytown owner Vicky Hester

• She took it over in 1985, a time when Virginia law still banned gay bars and serving alcohol to LGBTQ people.
• Hester is known as someone who built a sanctuary for those who needed it most, and told Axios in 2023 that at Babes, "We allow people to be themselves. You can be whoever you are, whatever you are."
• Thrillist, when naming Babes the best dive bar in Virginia in 2017, wrote it "doubles as a welcoming committee for anyone who stumbles inside, regardless of how they identify."

Zoom in: Her contributions to this city also included turning Babes into a hub for LGBTQ sports leagues, Pride events and fundraisers.

• Richmond's Metropolitan Community Church even named its food pantry after her in recognition of her years of support.
• Virginia Pride director James Millner called her "a pillar of Richmond's LGBTQ community" to WTVR.
• "She leaves behind a legacy that will live on for generations to come."

What's next: Details for a tribute to her life are incoming, according to a post from Babes of Carytown's Instagram, which asked people to remember Hester's "tenacity for life and love for people."