A Toast To The Divine Shelley Brothers

It’s being much reported on social media that SHELLEY BROTHERS, the beloved co-owner of Seattle’s only lesbian bar, The Wildrose Bar, has passed away. Many friends, longtime patrons, and LGBTQ organizations have been posting loving tributes to Shelley starting in late afternoon today, Monday, February 3rd. Tonight, at 10pm, that sad news was confirmed by a post on The Wildrose’s social media that Shelley had passed. No other details have been released.

The Wildrose, 1021 East Pike Street on Capitol Hill, Seattle’s longtime LGBTQ+ neighborhood, celebrated its 40th anniversary on December 30, 2024 and is one of Seattle’s longest running lgbtq venues. In addition to being the city’s only bar for “women who love women”, it’s also one of the few remaining lesbian bars in the United States. Shelley along with Martha Manning, have owned the bar since 2005 when the two stepped in to take over the venue after the previous owner and founder Bryer Herak and other partners were ready to move on.

Shelley is a much loved community member, a pillar who has been a friend to hundreds if not thousands of people who have passed through the doors of The Wildrose. She was a tough cookie but a kind one as well. Under the stewardship of Shelley and Martha, the bar dealt with the many changes that have taken place not only in the LGBTQ community but in Seattle and the Capitol Hill neighborhood as well. Under their guidance, the ‘Rose became a bar that welcomed everyone…as long as they were respectful that the venue was always Seattle’s homebase for its lesbian community. The bar has had to deal with huge changes to the Capitol Hill neighborhood as it gentrified into an entertainment district that became predominately heterosexual in orientation. Inflation, rising crime and the Covid pandemic were other challenges the bar faced, as well as changes in how LGBTQ+ people experience night life. Still, Shelley and Martha and the many loyal fans of the bar have allowed it to persevere. For so many people, the Rose was their home bar in Seattle, regardless of their gender or sexuality.

Personally, Shelley was always very welcoming to Seattle Gay Scene and we were always happy to partner with her on promoting their events over the years. The Rose was always a warm and welcoming place to hang out at, and a lot of that had to do with Shelley and Martha and the way they embraced everyone in the community. Shelley will be much missed and we offer our sincerest condolences to the Wildrose family and everyone who loved Shelley.

A toast to the divine Shelley Brothers! She’ll be much missed by so many people….SALUD!

Below, the Wildrose announcement. Note they have announced a celebration of Shelley’s life for Sunday, February 16th from 2pm to 9pm.

Check out this short documentary about The Wildrose featuring Shelley and Martha: