Businesses in full preparation mode for Columbus Pride weekend

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Businesses around Columbus are displaying their pride ahead of Pride weekend, and some LGBTQ+ business owners said they’ve been planning for months to make this celebration go smoothly.

Those businesses said Pride weekend in Columbus is by far their busiest weekend of the year, and have made the proper preparations, everything from extra staffing to security.

At Club Diversity in the Brewery District, someone attempted to rip that excitement away.

“On Friday morning, we did have some visitors that decided they would rather see Pride disappear,” Club Diversity Co-Owner Calvin Gruszecki said.

Security footage shows someone pulling down a Pride flag off the establishment.

“When I first walked around the corner into one of our banner poles, it was just gut-wrenching,” Gruszecki said. “They can take our flags, rip them down, they won't rip us down and we will still show our Pride and be back just as strong as ever.”

Gruszecki said that for this weekend, Club Diversity will be double-staffed, extra stocked and security ready.

At the Southbend Tavern in Merion Village, manager Aron Aranda said the bar is focusing on the three S’s.

The first one is staff. Aranda said everyone who works at Southbend will be working on Saturday.

“We are very proud all year round of our staff,” Aranda said. “We have the best bartenders in the city. So, we are making sure that everyone's on point this coming Saturday.”

The second “S” is shows.

“We have over 20 entertainers on Saturday that will be performing here,” Aranda said.

The last is safety and security, something Aranda said is being taken seriously.

“This is actually a security person that we know that has done it for us in the past, so he is working the entire month of June for us,” Aranda said.

Aranda hopes this weekend amplifies their constant message that this bar is a safe place for everyone.

These business owners want everything to go on perfectly, not just for them, but for the customers here to enjoy the celebration.

“It's a celebration of love and of just togetherness and being a family, so we are looking forward to that,” Aranda said. “We know there will be some loud noises on the outskirts but as long as we take care of each other we will be great.”

Both those business owners said as soon as this year’s celebration is over, they start planning for next year’s celebration.

As for security, they ask if you see something out of the ordinary this weekend to speak up.