ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014 As Central Florida continues to remember the 49 lives lost in the Pulse nightclub shooting and honor the survivors, other spaces in Orlando\u2019s LGBTQ+ community have continued to serve as places of connection and healing.<\/p>\n
One of those places is Savoy Orlando, a longtime LGBTQ+ gathering place on Orange Avenue in Ivanhoe Village.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a lot of ways, it still feels like it was just recently,\u201d said Brandon Llewellyn, owner of Savoy Orlando. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t feel like it was 10 years. It\u2019s so engrained in our memories. We carry it with us every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Savoy Orlando has been open nearly every day for 21 years and is known as a staple in the LGBTQ+ community.<\/p>\n
Llewellyn said he was bartending at Savoy the night of the Pulse shooting.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was here actually bartending the night it happened,\u201d Llewellyn said. \u201cOne of our regulars that was here was here until 1 in the morning. He decided he wanted to finish his night at Pulse. It\u2019s just one story.\u201d<\/p>\n
Llewellyn said he later received a text from a friend about the shooting and saw emergency vehicles as he closed the bar.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs I was leaving here, I started seeing ambulances come by here going to Florida Hospital,\u201d Llewellyn said. \u201cI thought that was weird. Then realizing they were taking the non-trauma patients over here because the hospital by Pulse was so inundated. Most of us didn\u2019t sleep that night. It was a hard few days.\u201d<\/p>\n
He later learned the regular who left Savoy for Pulse that night did not survive.<\/p>\n
In the years since the shooting, Llewellyn said Savoy has continued to serve as a safe space for patrons during difficult moments and joyful ones.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s humbling for me really,\u201d Llewellyn said. \u201cWe are such a part of the community. I don\u2019t feel like we\u2019re just a business. We\u2019re a space for the community. Everybody here, it\u2019s a family. The guests, regulars, staff, it\u2019s really a little family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Llewellyn said spaces like Savoy allow people to dance, laugh and smile when the world feels too heavy.<\/p>\n
Ten years later, he said the legacy of Pulse remains part of the community\u2019s daily life.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe legacy of Pulse is something we carry with us every day,\u201d Llewellyn said.<\/p>\n
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