No business like gay business

AUSTIN (KXAN) - A painter made last-minute touches on the front door of what was once Saba on Fourth Street in Downtown Austin Thursday.

Along with a new name, M Two , the place now has a new look, a new menu and a new clientele.

"We're doing something a little bit different here,” said M Two owner Joe Reynolds. “We're really marketing this place to the gay, male audience."

Reynolds is catering to gay customers, hoping to cash in on a similar success as his gay neighbors, such as clubs Rain and Oil Can Harry’s. His revamped place launches Friday night.

“Two men can come here and eat dinner,” he said. “They can hold hands and not feel uncomfortable. It's more upscale. It's more for dates."

If 35 years in business means anything, Susan Post will tell you that model works. Owning a feminist book store, the majority of her Book Woman customers are gay and have kept her sales strong.

"This is one of the few places in town gays and lesbians can come in and be themselves," said Post.

The city's Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce estimates Austin's Gay Dollar at nearly 10 percent of the city's income. That is about $2.3 billion a year.

This group seems to have weathered the nation's economic slump better than many others.

"[They] typically make more than their straight counterparts that don't have kids, that don't have dependents,” said Chamber President Chad Peevy.

With more than 200 business members, Peevy said this trend is taking on new life in Austin.

However, he has one warning for Reynolds and the others: Treat them like a community, not just customers.

"Once they like you, they just keep coming back,” Reynolds said.