tuscl

BYOB to full liquor bar club transition

samsung1
Ohio
I have heard of several clubs going from full liquor to BYOB, which is usually a bad thing because they had criminal activity that made them lose their liquor license, but hearing about going from BYOB to full liquor is new for me.

Here in Columbus, Vanity recently switched from nude/BYOB to full liquor/topless. I was one of the first 100 people to go there so now my name is on a list for free admission for the rest of the year. Just wondering if you guys have known of other clubs that have gone through this transition and how it went for them. I wonder if this is a last ditch attempt for them to stay in business or if they are just trying to change things up? The club used to be notorious for their $25 cover charge on weekend nights for first time customers ($15 cover plus $10 membership fee), but now they are not charging cover (but I am sure they will soon)

12 comments

  • DandyDan
    •
    14 years ago
    I don't know of any club that underwent that transition, but I doubt they were doing it for any reason other than to stay in business. The cover charge probably kept people away. They probably can make a lot more money depending on how high they mark up their beer prices.

    BTW, I don't know if the reverse transition is necessarily bad. I know in Iowa, it was done basically because of a legal loophole. Also, in some places, some club owners may simply not choose to renew their liquor license for reasons that have nothing to do with crime. I'm not sure how much one is, but I imagine it's quite a lot of dough there.
  • sharkhunter
    •
    14 years ago
    I just visited The Penthouse Key Club in Wellford SC. The sign out front says Gold Club now I noticed. They used to be byob and nude. Now they are not. Business was bad before the change with very high unemployment in South Carolina. I believe the club picked up several travelers coming from other areas which included me. I'm an hour away. Charlotte and Greenville is not that far away either. Anyway you can read my review as soon as it posts. The club changes suck big time in my opinion. Almost no one was tipping in the main club. They added liquor and now sell beer in the main club but it is topless only. They don't tell you and don't have any signs posted that I noticed. After talking to a dancer and asking questions, I found out the little room on the side of the club is nude. That is like a hole in the wall in my opinion. There are a few tables and a bar that no longers sells anything. They used to sell beer there and the main club was nude. You can carry beer back and forth but you have to buy it at the club except after midnight on Saturday night due to blue laws where it can't be sold in the area. I used to routinely visit but not anymore. I think the changes really suck. We don't have any decent nude clubs anymore.
  • sharkhunter
    •
    14 years ago
    I forgot to mention the cover charge to enter dropped from $15 to $10 but since you can't bring your beer in, I don't want to visit anymore. I also like clubs to have plenty of stage side seats with elevated stages. The only stage in the nude room at the club I visited is about 1.5 feet off the floor. It's not bad if you about the only person in there with a dancer but for the club to stay in business, I believe the room will need a lot more people. The main reason I visited the club was to save money on byob and it was nude. I did buy 3 drinks and tipped 3 or 4 dancers so the club may show a profit increase this weekend. The main club was pretty empty so I don't know though. I usually tip a lot more dancers but did not want to stay any longer.
  • sharkhunter
    •
    14 years ago
    I'm afraid the Penthouse Key Club or Gold Club or whatever it is called now will be going out of business the way things look.
  • sharkhunter
    •
    14 years ago
    I mentioned the changes to some other guy in the club since no one tells you in the main club except dancers after talking to them. He said the changes were gay.
  • troop
    •
    14 years ago
    lol shark.. are you trying to exceed sam's post count in this thread?
    j/k ;)

    a club in northern ohio went from byob to full liquor. i was never there when it was byob but have visited it since they got a liquor license so i don't know what the other differences are if any.
  • gatorfan
    •
    14 years ago
    I've never seen a strip club purchase a liquor license after being B.Y.O.
  • MisterGuy
    •
    14 years ago
    I think sharkhunter might be c-guy is disguise...who knows why though...
  • steve229
    •
    14 years ago
    "I think sharkhunter might be c-guy is disguise"

    I thought those stream of consciousness posts seemed familiar.
  • shadowcat
    •
    14 years ago
    On 7/12/10 casualguy said

    " I have a lot of posts on THIS name". Which was immediately followed by "I don't need to post a review under THIS name until 2012."

    The geographical area of sharkhunter's reviews matches casualguy's. If I were a betting man, I would take odds that they are the same person.

    Jablake was once Kyle1111.

    As the song says "even old New York was once New Amsterdam. Why they changed it, I can't say. Maybe they just liked it better that way".
  • MisterGuy
    •
    14 years ago
    That's just weird...
  • 59
    •
    14 years ago
    Al's Diamond Cabaret in Reading PA went from nude BYO to nude full liquour a couple of years ago. Their business was way down under the old format. The cover charge went from $15 to $5 I believe.
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