My First Club Visit Since COVID

So here in suburban Philly, the crackdown has hit pretty hard. For a while all the bars were shut down, then re-opened with a ton of restrictions, then another shutdown.

Now stuff has started to open up again, but there is no bar seating, no sitting at a table with anyone you don't know, and limited capacity at 50%.

So last Saturday night, following my second vaccination, after a day of delivering food, I found myself near an old favorite club. It was 7pm, but there were no cars in the lot. Odd I thought, but I tried the door. Locked. Hmm. 7 pm on a Saturday night. Then I read the sign. 8 pm to 2 am. Ok, I'll head across the street to the neighborhood tavern and watch the game for a bit and come back.

I headed back over at the half and was met at the door by an unmasked greeter who asked for $10. I gave it to her and headed in. I was surprised that all of the dancers circulating were masked, but not while performing. The bartender was also masked. There were no seats at the bar, but a number of 2 tops were lined up against the wall, about 3 feet from the bar.

The bartender took my order but pointed at the menu on the table. "You have to order food too. State rules." I said uh ok, what's cheapest? She said fries and I said fine. Back in the day, I used to come to this place for lunch and it had great food, but I had not eaten here in years. Fries seemed safe. The drink was the usual strip club strength, but not terribly expensive.

My beverage had not yet hit my lips before the first dancer stopped to say hello. A Caucasian, tattooed 6 with a saggy boobs, but ok - tipped the usual 2 in the usual 2 places.

The fries weren't bad at all!

I took a look around and noted that there were as many patrons as dancers - about 10 each. Only the main stage was in use and there was sports on all the TVs. I watched a few, tipped a few, but didn't see anything that really stood out. Mostly Caucasian girls in their 20s, a few older and a Latina. The best dance I saw was a young dark haired girl, petite body and natural boobs. She worked the room, and as she came back around stopped to say hello again.

I figured why not and she took me to the back. There were hand sanitizers next to each chair and no bouncer. She asked to keep her mask on and I said sure. She said she was nervous since it was her first night and her first dance. $20 a dance, plenty of touching allowed, solid grind. I've heard the first time thing before, but it seemed true this time. She seemed not to know what her boundaries were and a good time was had by all. She asked if I would be back next Saturday, since it was the only night that she has. I said I would sure try to make it.

There was no food requirement for the second drink, and I finished seeing the rest of the dancers and headed home.

Reflecting on my first trip to a SC in over a year, I have to say that despite the mask situation, it was a good experience. I'm not sure i like being forced to eat at a place that, despite having a kitchen that hasn't been used in in 3 years, but sometimes you have to make a sacrifice. I wonder if the reduced hours are a COVID thing or just a business decision. All in all, i think I am ready to get back in the game!