Multiple Cities

LGBTQ+ Friendly Butte County Businesses

By Asher Mayer-Jachec
April 02, 2024 (Originally published May 20, 2022)
Stonewall Alliance Pride
Stonewall Alliance Chico

Cel­e­brate Pride by vis­it­ing places in Butte Coun­ty that sup­port the LGBTQ+ com­mu­ni­ty. From cof­fee shops to events — you want to explore it all! No mat­ter what time of year you vis­it, these Butte Coun­ty busi­ness­es and orga­ni­za­tions boast their sup­port and pride while being queer-owned, ‑oper­at­ed, and ‑friend­ly.

Jump to: Food & Drink │ Events & Explo­ration │ Shop­ping │ Self Care │ Oth­er Resources

Food & Drink

Chico Chai

Offer­ing deli­cious brews of chai tea at busi­ness­es around Chico and at their stand at the week­ly farm­ers mar­ket, Chico Chai is per­fect for quench­ing your thirst for incred­i­ble tea. Even if you’re out­side Butte Coun­ty, they offer ship­ping so that you can enjoy your chai from anywhere.

Denine’s Cup­cakes

Offer­ing sat­is­fac­tion for your sweet tooth, Chico-based Denine’s Cup­cakes is an incred­i­ble local busi­ness to check out! Sell­ing her amaz­ing cup­cakes local­ly, through pick­up and deliv­ery, and at the Thurs­day Night Mar­ket in Down­town Chico, her busi­ness is a must for those look­ing for a sweet treat!

Drunk­en Dumpling

Uti­liz­ing local ingre­di­ents to craft incred­i­ble Asian fusion food, Drunk­en Dumpling prides them­selves on their ​“slow food” restau­rant style. Drunk­en Dumpling offers options for veg­an and veg­e­tar­i­an diets that are just as deli­cious as meat options! With live music and a chill vibe, Drunk­en Dumpling is a must-vis­it to try some­thing new for lunch or dinner.

Equi­lat­er­al Coffee

Eileen and Rylan host a wel­com­ing and affirm­ing envi­ron­ment to get your morn­ing pick-me-up. Besides curat­ing the per­fect, arti­san brew for you, Equi­lat­er­al Cof­fee proud­ly works with local artists and bean brew­ers to tru­ly encom­pass the entire com­mu­ni­ty in their business.

Secret Trail Brew­ing Co.

Offer­ing incred­i­ble brews, triv­ia nights, and open mic nights — what’s not to love about Secret Trail Brew­ing Co.? From hop­py IPAs to fruity ket­tle sours, there’s some­thing on the menu for every­one. Secret Trail Brew­ing also hosts local food trucks so you can have a bite with your beer! An incred­i­ble space to kick back, relax, and enjoy local culture.

Savor Ice Cream

Chico’s first arti­sanal (and 100% gluten-free) ice cream shop, Savor Ice Cream invites every­one to savor the moment. With sus­tain­abil­i­ty and envi­ron­men­tal and social jus­tice at the root of all that they do, Savor works with local part­ners and invests in the com­mu­ni­ty in a vari­ety of ways, so you know that the ice cream you’re eat­ing does­n’t just taste good — it’s made with good, too.

Events & Exploration

1078 Gallery

Host­ing artists from the Butte Coun­ty area, 1078 Gallery offers a vari­ety of art for your view­ing plea­sure. No two artists dis­play­ing their work at 1078 Gallery are the same, the unique­ness between exhibits keeps you com­ing back. 1078 Gallery has a long his­to­ry in the city of Chico, and their com­mit­ment to the arts is appar­ent in their gallery and events. Def­i­nite­ly a wor­thy stop for a fan­cy night out on the town.

Chico Riv­er Rentals

Just look­ing to relax and keep cool this sum­mer? Chico Riv­er Rentals has the per­fect activ­i­ty for those days where you just want to kick back. Offer­ing inner tubes, cool­er floats, and boat rentals, you can have true peace of mind while float­ing down the Sacra­men­to Riv­er.

Stonewall Events

Look­ing for com­mu­ni­ty con­nec­tions year round? Stonewall Alliance Cen­ter of Chico offers every­thing from social events, such as Chico Pride and Trans* Month, to peer sup­port groups. With groups for every­one and fun pop up events, Stonewall can help you get in touch with your local community!

Shop­ping

BaT Comics & Games

Sell­ing vin­tage and mod­ern comics, as well as com­ic mer­chan­dise, BaT Comics & Games is the per­fect stop for let­ting your nerdy side loose. With comics made by LGBTQ+ artists and fea­tur­ing LGBTQ+ char­ac­ters, they might have the per­fect read for any Pride month. Whether you’re look­ing for a new com­ic to read or some geeky gear, BaT Comics has you covered.

Heart­beat Farms & Wildgeese Pottery

Owned by Ned­dy and Jessie, Heart­beat Farm offers sea­son­al, sus­tain­able, and organ­ic pro­duce at the Chico Farm­ers Mar­ket. Co-Own­er Jessie also makes ceram­ic pot­tery that can be found through her Etsy shop, Wildgeese Pottery.

M Cre­ations Flo­ral Design

Melin­da of M Cre­ations Flo­ral Design is a Durham-based flo­ral artist offer­ing arrange­ments for wed­dings, spe­cial events, and day-to-day life. Using beau­ti­ful flow­ers to reflect the sto­ry of your events, Melinda’s work can take a great event to a tru­ly stun­ning one.

Par­adise Trib­ute Series

Offer­ing prod­ucts at Noth­ing But Love Par­adise and on his Etsy shop, Lucas at Par­adise Trib­ute Series has all you need to show off your Butte Coun­ty and Cal­i­for­nia pride. A sur­vivor of the 2018 Camp Fire in Par­adise, Lucas offers t‑shirts, drinkware, stick­ers, and home goods dis­play­ing his incred­i­ble art. His shop is the per­fect local busi­ness to sup­port when you’re look­ing to show off your pride in being a res­i­dent of Butte Coun­ty! Find his prod­ucts online or in-per­son at Buffy’s Gift Barn of Par­adise.

Upper Park Clothing

The pop­u­lar Upper Park Cloth­ing offers high-qual­i­ty and fash­ion­able Chico-inspired wear­ables for the trails and pave­ment. With styles for him, her, and them, Upper Park fos­ters a wel­com­ing atmos­phere for all mem­bers of the community.

Self Care

Mas­sage by Rain

Look­ing to take some stress off of your shoul­ders? Mas­sage by Rain can help! Knowl­edge­able in a mul­ti­plic­i­ty of mas­sage and body­work tech­niques, Rain offers alter­na­tive health care tai­lored to best suit your needs. Their prac­tice is acces­si­ble to all and has a focus on intu­itive chron­ic pain man­age­ment. No mat­ter what your goals and needs may be, Rain is here to help.

Ultra Beau­ti­cian

Look­ing for some­one who just gets hair? Look no fur­ther than Ultra Beau­ti­cian , owned and oper­at­ed by​Deryl. You can’t miss the fab­u­lous salon with its gor­geous, rhine­stoned sign tucked in between Ten­der Lov­ing Cof­fee and the Pageant The­ater. An eclec­tic and wel­com­ing salon, Deryl can tru­ly give you the hair of your dreams.

LGBTQ+ Friendly Butte County Businesses

Oth­er Resources

QRC at Butte College

The Queer Resource Center at Butte Col­lege offers a safe envi­ron­ment for LGBTQ+ stu­dents to express them­selves at Butte Col­lege. From events like queer prom to help­ing you nav­i­gate your life at Butte Col­lege, QRC has your back!

About the Author

Asher Mayer-Jachec

Ash­er Mayer-Jachec

Ash­er May­er-Jachec is an intern and assis­tant coor­di­na­tor with Stonewall Alliance Cen­ter of Chico. He loves spend­ing time with the Chico com­mu­ni­ty and explor­ing the beau­ty of Butte Coun­ty with his dog and spouse. With Stonewall Alliance Cen­ter of Chico, Ash­er helps with event and peer sup­port group coor­di­na­tion. Stonewall Alliance Cen­ter of Chico is com­mit­ted to pro­vid­ing sup­port to and cel­e­brat­ing the LGBTQ+ com­mu­ni­ty of the North State. They host events — such as Chico Pride, com­mu­ni­ty sup­port groups, and pop-up fairs — both in the com­mu­ni­ty and at their cen­ter. For more infor­ma­tion on ser­vices that Stonewall Alliance Cen­ter pro­vides, vis­it their web­site at stonewallchico​.com. Ash­er can be found at linkedin​.com/​i​n​/​a​s​h​e​r​m​a​y​e​r​j​achec