When Nick Fruend, 36 (Janessa Highland when in drag), travels the region, the Miss Gay Missouri America naturally scouts talent, especially in smaller cities like his native Springfield, Missouri. He’s proved to be an effective recruiter.
The Belles of the Bevo on the cover of Out In STL. Cover photo by Justin Lehman, courtesy of Nick Fruend.
“When I was traveling and performing frequently, I did a ton of shows all over,” Fruend says. “I’d talk to performers about how different the drag and LGBTQIA+ culture is in St. Louis, and how there were so many more opportunities here. St. Louis has a rich performance scene for a city in a ruby-red state. While the players have changed and some opportunities come and go, I feel like St. Louis has always done a pretty good job of offering opportunities and safe spaces for people across the spectrum. From the alt and club kid scene to pageant-style performers, there are more opportunities here than in most cities in the Midwest.”
Performers were convinced. Fruend helped newcomers get established by making introductions and finding bookings. Eight of the queens he’s lured to town were fortunate enough to land at his midcentury Drag Embassy on South Grand, with its rounded glass-block wall, front balcony, stunning foyer filled with crowns and awards, a commercial-grade workshop where garments have been created for some of the world’s biggest drag names, and tastefully designed private quarters tucked throughout the spacious building.
Little Bevo, big project
Fruend’s real estate empire expanded with the acquisition of the long-vacant Little Bevo in 2021. “The Little Bevo started as a project with me and my dad and my mom — who was less than thrilled about us taking on the massive renovation,” he says. “I drove by the building one day during COVID and noticed a for-sale sign in the window. The building had been vacant and boarded up for decades, so I was curious. I went home and started doing some research, and my dad called me from Phoenix, where they live. He had seen the property listing online the same day. The very first time I walked into The Little Bevo, I didn’t really think much of it. I figured touring it was just a way to get out of the house during COVID and see a cool old building. I didn’t pay much attention to it until my dad called to discuss seriously pursuing this as a project together.”
The senior Fruend talked about opening it as an event space, and when it seemed this could really happen, Fruend returned to take a closer look. “It was dark, there was no electricity, and it was cold and wet. The roof was shot, and it had just snowed. Having been closed for so long, the building had decayed and was in horrible shape, but there was something about it — a buzz or a glint of destiny — and definitely some ghosts or spirits we had disturbed. I remember feeling like I was being watched or followed when it was just me in the building. Everything was dusty, and there were puddles of water in spots where snow had melted.”
But by then, Fruend was in love and tried to put the best spin on it for his dad. “I had my dad on FaceTime,” he says, “and I remember trying to downplay how bad it was and play up my confidence about being able to manage the renovations. I had never managed something like this before, and my dad lives in Phoenix, so it was going to be me on the ground most of the time. I was terrified, but something in the back of my mind kept pushing me toward the project.”
They closed on The Little Bevo on February 21, 2021, and hosted their first event in April 2022: a drag pageant.
Fruend’s father didn’t even know he performed in drag until midway through the renovations. “When he found out about Janessa, I think he mostly dismissed the subject, but that year at Christmas he gave me a coffee mug that said, ‘Bitch Please, I’m so fucking fabulous I piss glitter and shit rainbows,’ with a rainbow across the bottom. I felt seen and supported, and I think that was his quiet way of saying what needed to be said via coffee mug instead of a gushy emotional conversation. My dad has always been a man of few words. After coming out at 19, we didn’t interact much. This project brought us closer, and now we talk almost every day, which I’m grateful for.”
Business was slow initially. “I did the thing I knew how to do best: Build a show! Coming from a show director background, I knew a good show could bring people in the door better than most things. We started our monthly themed drag brunches, and I ran them at first with the help of my roommates at the time. Soon, we had some new arrivals to the Drag Embassy, including our current show director and production manager of The Belles of the Bevo, Luna Thicc Mornett.”
A perfect match
Derek Fruend, Penelope “Ms. P” Fruend, Nick Fruend, Preston “Mr. Boots” Fruend” Photo credit: Lauren Schesselman
Fruend met his husband, Derek, in 2022. “Derek fit perfectly into every aspect of my life, including The Little Bevo,” he says. “The first time he came with me for an event I had to set up, he just went to the cleaning closet, grabbed supplies and started scrubbing toilets and cleaning the bathrooms. I was shook, honestly. I had told him he could just hang out while I did what I needed to do. Derek helped me immensely as the business grew. At the time it was just my sister Natalie and me running everything, with a couple of bartenders here and there. It was exhausting work. I’d work all day as the team lead at my real estate office, Derek would work his 12-hour shifts in the trauma unit at Barnes, and then we’d head to the Bevo to give my sister a break from running venue sales before she bartended that evening.”
When Natalie moved on, Fruend was ready to buy out his father’s interest. “When the time came for my sister to go back home and my parents to move on to a new project, I didn’t know what Derek was going to say. I knew how I felt, but it was a huge ask. He was completely on board and told me, ‘I know we can make this work. You are The Little Bevo, so how can it fail?”
Fit for a queen
As business grew, the Fruends were able to bring on Devion Mornett — Janessa’s drag mother, dearest friend and legend in her own right — as general manager. Mornett relocated from Kansas City.
“While we mostly focus on private events and weddings, it remains super important to us to be part of not only the performance scene but the LGBTQIA+ community as a whole,” Fruend says. “We donate the space when we can to causes that support our community and host weekly Thursday night shows, including Karaoke with Beth Saltzz, Latina’s Queendom, Royal Rumble — an up-and-coming competition night — and Drag Bingo. These are in addition to our themed drag brunches featuring The Belles of the Bevo every third Sunday.”
Fruend focuses more on mentoring performers than performing these days. The close-knit Belles gather regularly, including for a Thanksgiving meal. They rehearse weekly, but also support one another at other venues.
“Watching them all be so supportive of each other is truly heartwarming,” Fruend says. “Ultimately, I think the magic of The Belles of the Bevo is that we keep it real with each other and truly care about each other’s well-being on and off stage.
“One of my favorite rituals is that before shows, Luna has the cast circle up and hold each other’s hands. She gives a quick pep talk, and then we close our eyes and breathe together in unison — inhaling the good, the love and the excitement for the show, and exhaling any anxieties we’ve been carrying from everyday life.”
The experience has been nothing less than transformative for Fruend. “One of the biggest things I learned from the performer community,” he explains, “is the importance of a support system or a drag family — even if that family is simply a group of people who choose to support each other without a formal structure.”
In addition to providing a roof and a stage, the Fruends provide something even more essential: A sense of belonging. To borrow from Sister Sledge, they’re giving love in a family dose.
