It seems to me that every nude no-alcohol club that I've ever been to collected an admission fee at the front door. And it seems to me that's the only kind of place where I've run into entrance fees. On the surface that seems to make sense - they aren't making money selling alcohol so they have to make it somewhere. Except that they all sell non-alcoholic beverages for about the same price as you'd pay for a beer in an alcohol club and they all have a minimum two drinks or some such so you have to buy several. Plus the girls have to sell a certain number of drinks or pay for them themselves in some of the non-alcohol places I've been to. So why do they all charge entrance fees when the strip club/bars have none? Is this true in your area too?
In Vegas as a local I get in about 90% of clubs for free and will usually avoid a club that attempts to charge a cover (namely Seamless, $10 after midnight). I have been spoiled by ease of entry and would pay a cover on rare occasions in other cities.
to Shekitout---I actually did stop by Mons Venus in Tampa. When I found out the cover was $20, I didn't go in. Then I found out later that Mons is considered one of the top clubs in the U.S. I would have paid the $20 had I known that. I am still kicking myself for not going in.
Having been to clubs from Alaska to Florida, I can tell you that there is no standard anywhere lol The BYOB clubs do consistently tend to have a higher cover charge as you might expect. I would say that half of the clubs that I go to that servce alcohol have no admission during the day but as I mentioned there is no standard. I know at the PP in Memphis on crowded night (esp weekends you pay a cover at the door and have to buy your two drink beer minimum befor you enter the door). That's a good reason to turn around and leave because you aren't gonna get a seat and no deals will be found lol
Chandler and FONDL: Thanks for reminding me of one more item to add to my pre-vacation list of things to do--print out a free admission coupon to Brad's. I am hoping to get there sometime while on vacation for the next couple of weeks.
Hey, Officer, don't plan to go to Mons Venus in Tampa, FL. It's nonalcoholic & charges $20 admission! You do get a token for a soft drink or juice for that $20 & a chance to see of the hottest looking women anywhere!!
Because they don't sell alcohol, the nude/ no alcohol places have to make up for it by charging a high cover charge. This makes me reluctant to attend. I don't blame them for having a high cover, but I hate having to pay more than $10 to get into a club.
I've also been to clubs in the Southeast that have no entrance fee. There's lots of smaller titty bars in Atlanta and Florida (Teasers in Key West was my ultimate titty bar.) I've also been in lots of them in rural areas all over the East Coast. Some in the Midwest too. I think they're common in lots of areas, most of you probably just don't frequent such places cause they often look like real dives from the outside. Come to think of it, a lot of them look like that inside too. Last time I got an LD in such a place we were on a lone sofa in the basement with cases of beer stacked all around us. Total privacy.
No cover charge clubs do seem to be a local/regional thing. Philly area appears to be 1, PortlandOR another, except they have nudity AND alcohol. Haven't been there in a long time, but such places only had 2-4 dancers, even peak nights. That said, topless/alcohol clubs seem to have LOWER cover charges than Nude/Juice Bar clubs.
Brad's has a $5 cover charge at night. You can print out a free pass from their website. I printed it but forgot to take it all three times I went. After the last time, when I got home I printed out about a dozen passes and stuck them in my car's glove box. Of course, I haven't returned since November.
Chandler, I've forgotten, does Brad's charge an entrance fee? I don't remeber but I didn't think they did, at least not during the day. Incidently, Brad's doesn't really fit one of my descriptions and I can think of several other similar places (like Club Risque in Bristol, which is the closest thing to Brad's that I've found around here.) I call such places hybrids, they're sort of half way between a GC and a neighborhood titty bar. They're usually the best clubs IMO because they offer a range of activities common to GC's but with the lower prices and neighborhood atmosphere of the titty bar. Wish there were more such places.
Sounds like a local or regional thing, FONDL. Here in the Midwest, some clubs have a corner bar feel, but they aren't literally neighborhood bars that happen to have strippers. Brad's Brass Flamingo is pretty typical. Not many clubs are as good, but they're on a similar model with some being fancier and some more like dives. Nude clubs are mostly, well, Deja Vu. In fact, some of the pricing practices so common among nude clubs everywhere may simply be following Deja Vu's lead.
The nude clubs in my area are no alcohol. They all have cover charges--less during the day. Two of the three charge $5 for a soda, but all refills are free. This is for sodas only. If you get bottled water, near beer or juice, then you have to pay $2.50 each. The other club charges $3.00 per drink--soda, water or whatever.
Let me define my terms a little more here. Most of the clubs that I've ever been to, at least around here (Philly to DC corridor) generally fit one of three descriptions. The most common type places are the neighborhood titty bars. People go there mainly to drink and watch dancers on stage (the stage is usually inside the bar) and laps may be available but not many people buy them. Most of the dancers are older married or divorced women. Such places are all about drinking, watching and talking, and the atmosphere is almost like a normal bar. And everyone drinks beer. I've never seen a club like this charge an entrance fee. There may be a 2-drink minimum but it's rarely enforced.
Second are what I call LD factories - usually tiny non-alcohol clubs where girls dance nude on a little stage but the main feature is laps, everyone is there for the laps. Most of them these places are BYOB but some don't allow alcohol at all. Dancers tend to be the young party girl types. I've never been inside such a place that didn't have an entrance fee, usually something in the $15-20 range.
Then there are the big glitzy gentlemen's clubs, which aren't very common around here and they're mainly downtown in one of the major cities. They sell mostly mixed drinks to an uspsale crowd. The dancers tend to be the barbie-doll seasoned pros. The couple such places that I'm most familiar with don't usually bother charging an entrance fee during the day but I believe they do at night. But it's less than the LD factories typically charge.
So the majority of the clubs, which are the local titty bars, don't have an entrance fee. There are probably 50+ such places in and around Philly and a whole bunch in the Baltimore area too. Is that unusual? Don't such places exist in other areas anymore? Seems to me at one time nearly all strip clubs were like that.
I've only known 3 clubs (could be more, but can't remember all of them) which did not charge a cover to get in, at least at night, and all of them served alcohol. In fact, of all of the clubs I've been to which were nude and no-alcohol served (could be BYOB), I think the minimum I've seen is $10. I can't think of anywhere that served alcohol which was more than $10. So maybe it's just that you noticed it more in the non-alcohol place.
FONDL: Its been over 15 yrs since I've been in a club that didn't charge any cover without a coupon/pass/club membership. I've been to dozens, both topless and nude since then. The club?? Tootsies, in Miami FL, nude and alcohol served. Go figure.
There is only one club in the entire Providence or Boston area that doesn't charge a cover at least at night. All of them serve alcohol. I know it's not the same in other parts of the country but I don't see any correlation between liquor or lack of it and the cover charge. A few neighborhood bars may not charge a cover but thats because it would scare the locals away.
I live & work in a large aerospace-based area, and most nude clubs around here let you in free when you show your badge. Or you can always find a free pass in any one of the local newspapers, so I don't think that the clubs are getting all that much $$$ from admission fees here in L.A.
I believe every strip club I know about charges an admission fee. The nude clubs seems to have an extra high fee. The nudes clubs I know about though let you bring in your own beer for an extra $3 fee at the door (I suppose they say they are paying for the ice and a cooler for you). I suppose some clubs may charge higher fees than others.
Virtually all clubs I know of have a cover charge at night. Many clubs with alcohol wave the cover during days. That may be less common at no-alcohol clubs. I also know of many alcohol clubs that have a drink minumum, although enforcement varies. Finally, I'm sure that clubs with a liquor license make far far more off of drink sales than juice bars. Their sodas aren't exactly cheap either. They sell a lot more drinks per customer and more expensive drinks with, no doubt, a higher profit margin.
Why do no-alcohol clubs charge more? I imagine they find that customers are willing to pay more for nudity.
21 comments
Latest
Second are what I call LD factories - usually tiny non-alcohol clubs where girls dance nude on a little stage but the main feature is laps, everyone is there for the laps. Most of them these places are BYOB but some don't allow alcohol at all. Dancers tend to be the young party girl types. I've never been inside such a place that didn't have an entrance fee, usually something in the $15-20 range.
Then there are the big glitzy gentlemen's clubs, which aren't very common around here and they're mainly downtown in one of the major cities. They sell mostly mixed drinks to an uspsale crowd. The dancers tend to be the barbie-doll seasoned pros. The couple such places that I'm most familiar with don't usually bother charging an entrance fee during the day but I believe they do at night. But it's less than the LD factories typically charge.
So the majority of the clubs, which are the local titty bars, don't have an entrance fee. There are probably 50+ such places in and around Philly and a whole bunch in the Baltimore area too. Is that unusual? Don't such places exist in other areas anymore? Seems to me at one time nearly all strip clubs were like that.
Why do no-alcohol clubs charge more? I imagine they find that customers are willing to pay more for nudity.