ST. LOUIS — Some bars and venues in St. Louis are boycotting Anheuser-Busch products after the brewer pulled out of the local PrideFest, ending its more than 30-year sponsorship of the annual festival.
Kenny’s Upstairs, a bar in Tower Grove South, announced this week that it planned to phase out A-B drinks and sell its remaining inventory at reduced prices.
The owner, Kenny Marks, said it took him “half a second” to decide on the boycott.
“Boycotting is the root of all change,” Marks said. “I have no problem cutting out companies that go against my moral compass.”
He called A-B’s past support of the LGBTQ community insincere and that he was not surprised the company dropped its sponsorship of PrideFest.
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“Corporations care way more about their bottom line than speaking truth to power,” Marks said. “It’s pretty clear to me that their support was a financial gain.”
After a wave of controversy two years ago, A-B has shifted its marketing efforts to focus on sports, the military charity Folds of Honor and music in an effort to win back conservative consumers, who themselves had conducted boycotts.
In 2023, A-B sent transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney a customized Bud Light can that she shared in a video, sparking an outcry from conservatives, including celebrities such as Kid Rock. In the months following, sales plummeted, with many consumers saying they wanted to enjoy their beer without debate or politics.
A-B has not released a statement this week explaining why it dropped its Pride Fest sponsorship, and the company did not respond to requests for comment. A-B has given about $70,000 in donations and in-kind contributions to Pride St. Louis over the years, event organizers said.
San Francisco Pride also announced recently that A-B had backed out of its parade this year, as did Comcast, beverage company Diageo and wine company La Crema.
In the wake of the news in St. Louis, Greenfinch Theater & Dive, a bar in south city, said it was removing A-B products, such as Busch, Bud Light, Stella Artois and Michelob Ultra, from its shelves.
“I don’t expect big corporations to align with anyone’s political views,” said co-owner Colin Healy. “I think a corporation like that can decide to be on the side of things that’s people-focused and does the least harm, or be on the side that’s opportunistic financially.”
He said he would love to eventually serve Bud Light and other A-B products again.
“This is not political,” Healy explained. “But having a can of beer in business is not worth making someone feel worthless and unsafe because of the corporation’s ideology.”
At the Improv Shop, a comedy venue and school in Botanical Heights, managing director Andy Sloey said joining the boycott was “a sign of support of the members of our community.”
“We have a lot of performers, students, staff and employees who are part of the LGBTQ community,” Sloey said.
Rehab Bar and Grill, located in the Grove neighborhood, also announced it would no longer sell A-B products.
“As a community, we have been continuously targeted in all aspects of our lives,” owner Chad Fox said in a press release. “While for many years corporations have, in some respects, led efforts in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the decision by Anheuser-Busch — a long-standing sponsor of St. Louis PrideFest — to end their sponsorship is yet another targeted attack on our LGBTQIA+ community.”
Other bars and businesses in the Grove were quick to join in after that. Tatyana Telnikova, owner of bike-themed pub HandleBar said she and other merchants are hoping to send a message to A-B.
“Why not put your money where your mouth is?” Telnikova said. “I think it’s very apparent with [A-B], they just follow trends.”
Bar:PM in the Carondelet neighborhood joined the boycott as well.
“It’s inevitable that when AB doesn’t support us, we cannot continue to support them,” co-owner Chad Morris said in a statement. “St. Louis is our home, and our community deserves better than to be abandoned by corporations that have profited from us for years. We stand with Pride St. Louis and the entire LGBTQIA+ community in the face of this disappointing decision.”
Trans activist and social media star Dylan Mulvaney claps back at haters following her partnerships with Bud Light and Nike. Howard Stern recently voiced his support for the TikToker.
