Just over 10 years ago, it looked like The Stonewall Inn was going out of business.

It had nothing really to do about the gay community anymore by that time, co-owner Kurt Kelly told HuffPost. They werent really taking care of the place lets put it that way.

The bar now heralded as the launching point for the mainstream LGBTQ rights movement had, according to Kurt, fallen to the wayside and lost touch with its queer roots. So in 2006, in light of Stonewall going under, Kelly and a group of investors bought the property and revitalized it.

The first few years were challenging. Kelly brought investor Stacy Lentz on board as a co-owner, who helped with marketing the new face of Stonewall and bringing in new, diverse LGBTQ clientele.

Its been an amazing journey, Stacy told HuffPost. I came in and I knew a ton of lesbians and introduced some to Kurt and we really started going. Early on, the Thursday and Friday nights for the lesbians became really important. One of the things that he and I both shared a vision in was saying we want everyone welcome.

If it wasnt for the lesbians coming in and supporting the Stonewall, we wouldnt be open right now, Kelly continued. They actually saved it.

From that point on, Kelly and Lentz sought to make Stonewall a space where people from all across the spectrum of the LGBTQ community felt celebrated and welcome.

In this interview with HuffPost, Kelly and Lentz reflect on the history of The Stonewall Inn since they bought it, their new Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative and Stonewalls enduring significance to the LGBTQ community.