tuscl

Annoying Strip Club Practices ... Part 4: Strip Clubs that Close Without Notice!

Club_Goer_Seattle
Seattle, Washington
Tuesday, June 21, 2011 6:11 PM
(Or with very little notice) It's only happened to me twice, that a favorite strip club of mine closed and did so suddenly without any notice—not to anyone, especially the club's employees. My first experience with this was when in lived in L.A. The (then) Sahara Theater in the city of Industry closed, without notice one night in 2004. I happened to be there that night and was surprised as anyone when I later heard about it. It was a Saturday night. I left a couple of hours before the club closed. I was told that anyone who worked the night shift that night experienced a normal night. Nothing seemed unusual as they finished their shifts, and went home. However, those that came to work for the day shift the next day, were greeted with locked doors, and a handwritten sign on the front door that read, “Sahara is now closed. Visit us at our Anaheim location” (a 30 to 45-min. drive). It turns out that there was a landlord/tenant dispute, and the landlord didn't want to continue to rent to that tenant. Obviously, the landlord did not object to a strip club as a tenant, since he rented it later that year to Déjà Vu which has been there ever since. My next experience was here in the Puget Sound region. Sugar's, a club in Shoreline, WA, that I used to go to among a few different clubs, was given at least a half hour's notice. The owner called the club manager at 1:30 a.m. in July 2009 and said to tell everyone that the club is closing tonight. This club was one of four owned by a partnership. The other three clubs would be forced to close on the same day by legal action, 10 months later. However, when the last three clubs closed, that made headlines and about 10 days advance notice was given through the media of the agreed-to closing date. I wonder if that partnership would have given any advance notice, had it not been for the media coverage? It's been my feeling that club owners are generally greedy. They gouge and abuse both customers and employees for profit. At the largest of the four Puget Sound clubs that closed, I know that there were approximately 150 dancers, and perhaps 15 other employees. Putting that many employees “on the street,” suddenly, should be a crime. But, of course, if strip club owners gave advance notice, they'd loose money. What's been your experience with this?

7 comments

  • samsung1
    13 years ago
    yeah I also dislike when they close down early in the day because "business is slow" or "bad weather" or "no dancers showed up".
  • lopaw
    13 years ago
    Club_Goer- The exact same thing that happened @ Sahara Theatre happened to Fritz of Bellflower about 3 years ago. A friend of mine & I had just started going to Fritz (it had been around for something like 40 years), when one day that infamous sign was scotch-taped to the front door - "We're closed, but please visit Fritz Too in Anaheim") This was on a on a Friday night, w/o any notice to the employees at all. Man, were the dancers pissed.
  • magicrat
    13 years ago
    One of my favorite clubs got raided because of some of the umm activities going on there, never to reopen. I kept up with my favorite dancer for awhile, but that seems to have ended as well at this point. Another club has apparently opened in the same building but I would think the activities are really monitored so none of the fun that we were used to. Ahh good times but life goes on.
  • minnow
    13 years ago
    I hate it when I drive over an hour to another town only to drive up, and see police raiding the club.
  • bang69
    13 years ago
    I agree with samsung1
  • SuperDude
    13 years ago
    Some owners are just lousy businessmen. They think that the can nickle and dime customers to get the cash to get out of a hole. The hole is usually created by skimming money from the cash register for personal use. Treating customers like dirt hurts cash flow. Then they try to up fees to get more cash. The bank, the landlord and I.R.S. all expect to be paid. They will close a club in default without mercy. Customers don't know until the place is locked. TUSCL members often share information about the warning signs. Watered down drinks, lazy dancers, ratty furniture or broken lights are all signs that a club is not making it. Some clubs can hide their deterioration, but only so long. Then WHAM!
  • gatorfan
    13 years ago
    Damn those fucking clubs that close because they lose the liquor license or are raided
You must be a member to leave a comment.Join Now
Got something to say?
Start your own discussion