An Irish pub owner in New York has told of his love of owning a bar dubbed the "queer Cheers" and making sure his pubs are safe spaces for the LGBTQ+ community.

Dubliner Nathan Finnegan moved to the Big Apple 11 years ago, initially intending to stay in the city working in Midtown Manhattan bars for three months.

He fell in love with the city, however, and decided to open his own bar. He eventually bought a former LGBTQ+ bar that needed a bit of work eight years ago. Now, he owns three different venues in the Astoria area of Queens, reports the Irish Star.

He is now the owner of Albatross, Icon, and Kween, three LGBTQ+ venues with different vibes. Albatross is dubbed "queer Cheers", a laid-back neighborhood bar, Icon, which is an Irish-inspired pub-nightclub hybrid, and Kween is a cocktail bar with food designed to be perfect for date nights and drag brunch.

Read more: Irish pub in New York becomes community hub for expats

Above all, Nathan said each of the venues is focused on and dedicated to creating spaces the community can be proud of and listening to what the area needs.

Speaking about his journey to New York, Nathan told IrishStar.com: "I grew up in Dublin and studied Aerospace Engineering, so that's obviously a natural transition to being a bar owner, right?

"After my degree I worked in the south of France for a year thinking it was my dream job, when I got there for three months I was looking around the room and said this wasn't for me. It wasn't the route I wanted to take, it wasn't me.

"I was going to switch to management consulting, it's very much 80 hours a week and traveling lots - it's a tough job. My uncle owns bars in Midtown and I had always wanted to give it a go, seeing what it was like living in New York.

"I have a lot of family here so would've visited when I was younger and I always loved it, I loved the culture, and I was like 'Let's do this.' I went for what I thought was three months and here we are now 11 years later.

"I was able to do a million J1s and whatever else you can do to stay in this country. I have a wife and two young kids now - everything is going great."

Community involvement within the venues is everything; from what items they should include on their menus to what new venues the community would like to see. Nathan and the team are also dedicated to giving back in other ways, including sponsoring local sports teams and taking part in fundraising initiatives.

Nathan is hoping his venues are somewhere people from both the local community and around the world can visit and feel safe.

He said: "Our business model has just been serving the community. We talk to every single person and make sure to ask people what would make this place better.

"It's very different to bars in Manhattan - it's very local and we have a very loyal community here. They take it very seriously. They support us all the time and we listen to their opinions on how to make the place better, and we have done since day one.

"The biggest thing is we want it to be a safe space. The bars are predominately for the queer community, but anyone can come who is open-minded and is a nice person.

"The biggest thing is we just want to provide a space for people to be themselves and have a fun time. With everything that goes on in the world, people just want to leave their problems at the door and have a great time.

"We hope people come here and can fully be themselves; there is no negativity in this space, everybody is going to like you for who you are."

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