The team behind Melbourne's well-known Eagle Leather store has issued a heartfelt statement regarding the next chapter for the much-loved queer business, says the Australian gay portal GayNation. In a message shared across social media, they confirmed the building that has been their base for nearly twenty years is once again being listed for sale.
Despite the announcement sparking worry among customers, the shop is not shutting down immediately. Eagle Leather still has a number of years left on its current lease agreement.
Over the past few years, the business has also been the victim of anti-LGBTQIA+ vandalism. Rather than breaking their spirit, these incidents have only strengthened the owners' resolve to safeguard queer venues such as Eagle Leather.
Now, the team has admitted that the future of their Hoddle Street premises looks unclear, with the property now available on the market once more.
"You might remember back in 2023, the property that we have called home for almost two decades went up for sale," the owners wrote, recalling how they only became aware of the listing when workers turned up to install a sale board.
At that time, no purchaser came forward, and Eagle Leather was able to keep trading after the building was withdrawn from sale. This time around, the team says they were given prior warning.
"We are sad to let our community know that our property is again up for sale, and we wanted to give you the heads up before the sign goes up," they wrote.
The owners stressed that the news does not mean an immediate closure.
A $10 Million Price Tag
While purchasing the building would offer long-term stability, the owners stated that the asking price is simply not achievable for a business like theirs.
"We've played out every possible scenario these last few weeks since we found out: buy the building ourselves, offer to extend the lease and/or pay more money, do a go fund me to buy the group of buildings, petition the state government, start some kind of sit in or march, but honestly, we've come to the conclusion that 10 million is a genuinely unachievable target considering the amount itself, the time frame needed to raise the money, and the combined value of the land they are looking to sell (we only make up about a quarter of the land for sale)."
"What's happening to us now is just another reason that over the last several years, we've been fighting to gain some 'culturally significant' protections to curb the development of buildings that house vital queer spaces, pieces of living history. Because a space like ours is more than the sum of its parts, more than the bricks and mortar, more than whatever value you can put on its square meterage or 'location, location, location'."
Eagle Leather said the business received 75 submissions to Yarra City Council's LGBTQIA+ Sites of Significance survey. That work later informed a more detailed heritage study by GML Heritage, which found Eagle Leather to be a place "of high social and historical significance".
The study also described the business as a space that "provides a touchstone and a safe haven for marginalised people from all over the world".
However, despite those efforts, the owners said any cultural significance protections are unlikely to arrive in time to save the current building.
"Unfortunately, despite all of our best efforts at this over the last several years, it will be too late for cultural significance protections like this to save our current building, but we are determined to keep working on this goal because it is definitely not too late for these protections to aid other queer businesses in the area in future, especially some of our longstanding bars and clubs."
A Call to Support Queer Businesses
The owners urged the community not only to support Eagle Leather, but also to show up for other LGBTQIA+ venues and businesses across Melbourne.
"Get off the apps, get out of your home, and show up. Grab a drink at The Laird or Grouse. Sit down for dinner at Mollie's Bar and Diner. Go for a cruise at Wet on Wellington. Catch a drag show at DT's Hotel or The 86. Blow off some steam at UBQ, stop off at Sircuit, and end up stumbling out of The Peel at 3am. Shop with us, Lucrezia & De Sade or Mannhaus. Buy a book from Hares Hyenas. Bezos doesn't need to acquire any more Met Galas!"
They acknowledged that not everyone can afford to support queer businesses financially, but said there are still meaningful ways to help.
Above all, the team emphasised that Eagle Leather will keep fighting for its future.
"Know that we are resilient, we are prepared, we have a lot of fight left in us, and when our community is behind us, we always win in the end. Know that we are putting in the work now to attempt to find ourselves a 'forever home' for our beautiful business that means so much to so many of you. And know that YES, we're going to do our very best to take our historical Wall of Fame bricks with us!!!"
For Melbourne's queer leather and kink communities, Eagle Leather's future may be uncertain, but its owners say the business is far from finished.
