Feature
HEAD TO FRESCO’S CANTINA
FOR PRIDE MONTH
Astoria restaurant expands popular drag brunch
BY JENNA BAGCAL
For the past year and a half, Brian Mar-tinez
has been running his successful
drag brunch at Fresco’s Cantina in
Astoria.
Back in January 2018, the restaurateur
wanted to bring the drag shows he attended
in Manhattan to his patrons in Queens. But
what started out as a four-week trial to
drum up business eventually turned into a
staple event, which sells out every Sunday
according to Martinez.
Although Fresco’s Cantina at 12-14 31st
Ave. has established a reputation for “au-thentic
and modern Mexican cuisine,” the
eatery is renowned for having the only drag
brunch in Queens.
“The show is a variety show, the queens
do all types of musical numbers and joke
on each other. There’s news and political
mentions. They do cartwheels and stuff
on the floor. They’re really good at reading
people’s vibe,” he said.
In honor of NYC Pride 2019, which marks
the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Upris-ing,
Martinez has been offering patrons a
second seating to the popular 12 p.m. show.
Those interested can now attend the show
at 3 p.m. every Sunday.
“I feel bad telling people we’re sold out,”
said Martinez, who added that they seat 55
patrons per brunch.
As a member of the LGBT community,
Martinez said that he makes sure to pro-mote
events that uplift his community. Every
Sunday during Pride Month, Fresco’s will be
welcoming drag queens like Juicy Lu and
Hibiscus, who Martinez said have performed
at Fresco’s in the past.
On Thursday, June 13 Martinez intro-duced
the first Noche in Mumbai event,
which translates to “Nights in Mumbai”
in English. The night included a special
26 JUNE 2019 I LIC COURIER I www.qns.com
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