Audrey Corley, founder of Melrose District mainstay Boycott Bar and owner of Title 9 Sports Grill, was recognized with the Greater Phoenix Equality Chamber’s 2026 Community Partnership Award (submitted photo).
Audrey Corley, founder of Melrose District mainstay Boycott Bar, has earned the Greater Phoenix Equality Chamber’s 2026 Community Partnership Award.
For more than two decades, Corley has helped shape what LGBTQ+ nightlife, community and belonging can look like in Phoenix, the Chamber said. Now, that work is being recognized with a 2026 Community Partnership Award for their lasting role in creating safe, visible and community-centered spaces across Greater Phoenix.
“This award means a lot because it reflects the people and partnerships behind Boycott,” Corley said. “No one builds community alone. Boycott has grown because people needed a place where they could walk in, feel comfortable and know they belonged. That has always been the heart of it.”
The Greater Phoenix Equality Chamber of Commerce, also known as GPECC, supports the region’s LGBTQ+ business community and works to advance economic opportunity, business equality and inclusion. Its Annual Hero Awards recognize businesses, business owners and community leaders showing dedication, leadership and advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community.
For Corley, the recognition marks a meaningful moment in a career defined by resilience, representation and local impact. At a time when lesbian bars have become increasingly rare across the country, Boycott has continued to stand out as a cultural and community fixture in Phoenix. The bar has been featured by “The Lesbian Bar Project” documentary, named to USA TODAY’s 2024 Bars of the Year list and recognized locally for its role in keeping LGBTQ+ spaces visible, active and rooted in community care.
“What I am most proud of is that Boycott still feels personal,” Corley says. “People come here to celebrate big moments, to find their people, to dance, to laugh, to exhale. Sometimes they come in just needing a place where they do not have to explain who they are. That matters.”
The honor comes during a period of continued growth for Corley, whose work has expanded beyond into women’s sports and broader community-centered hospitality. Title 9 Sports Grill, also in the Melrose District, created to put women’s athletics front and center, has become another gathering place for fans who have long wanted more visibility, more screens and more energy around women’s sports. For Corley, the connection between Boycott and Title 9 is simple: both are built around belonging.
For more information about Boycott Bar, visit www.boycottbarphx.com. Learn more about GPECC by visiting www.equalitychamber.org.
