I've noticed in the past couple years the clubs in Toledo just don't seem to be hitting anymore. There used to be 8+ clubs, and now it's down to 4.
Several of these are pretty well known issues. Downtown had a club that went through multiple rebrands, ending up as Hen House, but after some legal issues it closed for years and is now a Mexican restaurant and bar. Deja Vu got closed for drugs and hooking, and a few years ago was rebranded "The Strip" but, best I can tell, never reopened and is empty. Scarlett's became Rack City. That had violence and rebranded as Roxy and failed twice, first as a BYOB place but the city stopped that, then as an urban club that probably averaged 2 customers a day! There was one that was part of a concert venue Headliners, that whole business is gone. Black Diamond opened and closed fast because it was never legally supposed to have stripping.
I'm sure it was a bit of oversaturation, but what's left still doesn't seem to be great. Hush/Mint seems to reopen and close every couple months, and I heard a rumor they are rebranding again. Not a shock honestly. Mint was supposed to be an upscale club, but the area around it and the plaza it's in doesn't support that. And I think while it was still Hush, someone on the predator list bought it through his girlfriend, so the staff walked out and they had to get rid of that owner. But they do have the advantage of being the only club in West Toledo. You'd think they'd have some success. Climaxxx is the bizarre club that, similar to Hush, seems to close for weeks at a time. It's tiny and doesn't feel super welcoming to everyone. They do seem to fill up, but it's so small that's not hard to do. Lust became Peppermint Hippo, and seemed busy for a while, but it seems to be fading. I've heard they may be rebranding because they sold to someone. Fridays and Saturdays sometimes still pull a crowd, but often don't seem too busy. Platinum got bought by Bucks, and it is definitely the busiest club, but even it just doesn't feel like it is as popular as it was. Like the party just lost it's vibe.
What caused all of the issues? There's no easy answer but here's a few thoughts.
COVID. After the lockdown the clubs actually seemed to get really busy, but it peeked and seemed to quickly drop to worse than pre-Covid attendance. Bad luck. Platinum had the "fake cop" situation around a year ago and the Hippo had a customer leave and do a hit and run on a bicyclist. Since then vice cops stop by the clubs frequently and that definitely puts everyone in edge. Lack of variety. It seems that the same girls bounce between Hippo and Platinum, and it's been mostly the same girls for years. There is the occasional new face but most don't stick around long No money. Seems many customers have less money to spend, or just don't spend, and the girls don't stick around because they are not making anything. Ballers. These guys annoy me and a lot of girls complain too. They are the guys who come in and (try to) record themselves "making it rain". They bring maybe $50-100 and throw some in 1-5 spurts. They demand a lot of attention, but really don't spend. And a lot try to get the girls to leave with them and get offended the girls tell them no. Ohio laws. If you serve alcohol, no nudity is allowed. Girls even have to wear pasties. And technically everything has to be air dances (hence vice killing the mood). If you don't allow liquor, you can have full nude dancers but no clubs succeeded doing that. Michigan/Detroit. This, seems to actually be related to a lot of other issues. Better clubs with better rules are only an hour away. You can see nipples and drink. The variety is better and a lot of Toledo dancers migrate there because there seems to be more money. There also is just more to do so customers can save up, do something fun, then end their night at a club. And seriously a place like Flight Club or Dreamgirls is just aesthetically nicer inside than anything Toledo has to offer. Websites. On top of everything else, you can see so much more online. And many dancers have accounts to show off what you don't see in clubs.
Now will there be a resurgence or market change? It's certainly interesting to see how it kinda seems to all be going downhill. Maybe it's just a rut. Maybe it's bad management. But either way it's been so interesting to see but it's just not really worth dealing with Toledo at the moment, at least in my opinion.
