I am Ted Kamp, a Writer/Director/Producer making a film about a place called Manny’s Den. What was Manny’s Den? It was a restaurant and bar in New Brunswick, NJ, run by the Mack family that became a mecca for the LBGTQ+ community waaaaay before it was known as such. The Macks welcomed queer patrons as far back as the 1950’s. More significantly, they stood up for their right to congregate in public in a landmark legal case that concluded in 1967, two years before the Stonewall Riots and the birth of the modern gay rights movement.

“The Den” went on to become a nexus for the gay community and a safe space for thousands of people who often had nowhere else to be themselves. It was also the improbable family business in which Peter & Randi Mack grew up, a livelihood that existed in its own closet for much of their young lives. I know this well. I grew up just blocks from them, knowing the family but never knowing anything about Manny’s Den.

Now, I am very proud that I know the nice Jewish family that ran a gay bar for 50 years. This is going to be an inspiring film, telling a timely tale of persecution and the people who fight it. Not to mention the story of a truly fabulous and fun place that changed lives and history.