2 drink minimum – can clubs legally enforce this shit ?

You raise a good question. If challenged in the courts, I wonder if it would hold up. But the alternative would be what juice bars do -- charge a high ($15 to $20) cover charge and drinks are optional.

Could cost more than the 2-drink minimum. Just like the dancers wanting to be paid minimum wage -- be careful what you wish for.

I can't remember the last time I went to a club and was even told that it was a 2-drink minimum. I guess it's become and unsaid rule. Most waitresses of clubs I frequent only seem to care about the big-spending groups anyway, so I go to the bar. But, basically, the club rule is the club rule. It's not worth arguing with them. Believe me, I know from experience, in a strip club, the customer is NEVER right!

That 2 drink minimum stuff must be BS as the clubs are getting the liquor license from the local town. And would hate to have the city fathers forcing us to drink!

Before you time Papi, Follies used to have big sign out front saying "2 drink minimum"; but that was to keep the riff raff out.

Sure it's legally enforceable. A club can set any condition upon entry that it wants to so long as it doesn't violate some law (like denying entry according to race, or requiring some illegal act to be performed). Nothing illegal about requiring a patron to buy a legal product as a condition to entry to a business.

Like JS69 said as long as they aren't violating civil rights laws they can mandate whatever they want, as long as it is applied fairly and consistently to everyone.

I'm not sure any club would actually enforce it. But if you have a problem with it, they could ask you to leave. I guess that's a form of enforcement.

In a big club I'd guess nobody in mgmt would be able to say if someone had any drinks or not or much care for that matter. It's the small clubs that one could run into this if not drinking. If you're sitting at the bar the bartendar might recognize you haven't got a drink and therefore he is out any tips from you. Most clubs I've been in I've seen signs about drink minimums. I've been told a few times about the mins, but not recently, and I drink anyway so they were mistaken.

BTW, the 2 drink min would be hard to enforce. If you only are gonna have one drink you can just carry the empty beer bottle around with you. Wrap a napkin around the bottom and even if it is clear you can't tell if it is empty. If you're really desparate you can probably find an empty in a trash can.

Problem solving that's what I do! lol

I'm not a lawyer, but federal civil rights laws prohibit discrimination in places of public accommodation for reasons of race, color, national origin/ancestry, sex/gender, religion/creed. The disabilities act affords those same protections as well. Aside from that, business are generally free to set whatever conditions on accommodation that they like. Even when it comes to protected classes, there are a number of cases where you can discriminate, for example when there is a legitimate business reason. So, even if you could successfully claim religious discrimination vis-a-vis alcohol there's a good chance the business interest of using their facilities to sell goods would win out.

It might be interesting if they attempted to require you to consume a particular product like alcohol. I've never heard of a place requiring alcohol purchase, much less consumption of whatever you purchase though. I can't see it being worth arguing in any case, if they lost its quite simple to charge a larger cover and include drink vouchers to essentially accommodate the same thing. I've been to clubs that do that.

I've never seen it enforced, was there someplace in S FL that pushed it?

^ From a recent review of a So FL club:

“…Arrived around noon and 3 girls were working. Very dark and was waiting for night vision to kick in. Approached immediately for a drink and declined stating I was waiting for a friend. Really I was waiting for my eyes to adjust from the blinding sun to the unusual even for a strip club low lights inside. Not 2 minutes went by and I was again asked to buy a drink. I could see that 2 of the girls were 2's at best and the 3rd girl was chatting up a customer in the back, she may hav been better looking but I couldn't tell. I declined the drink stating I'd order in a few minutes. Immediately the manager approached and told me to buy a drink or leave with considerable attitude. I told him I'd gladly leave due to his rudeness and lack of female talent. Headed down the road to the Porthole. I might've stayed and bought a drink had I been given a few minutes...seriously WTF …”

https://www.tuscl.net/club.php?ID=158

I can see a bar or club requiring a one or two drink minimum, but I can't see them insisting that those drinks must be alcoholic. Ordering soda, coffee or water would fulfill the obligation.

Interesting. If you told me the two clubs mentioned I would have bet on the Porthole management ejecting a customer for that. Still though, I kinda wonder if anything else was going on. Really though, the jackass manager who asked him to leave probably did him a favor. I've been in there a few times and never finished my beer.

Comedy clubs here have 2 drink minimums. They sell water and coffee along with booze.

In general, private establishments can do what they like.

excellent question. I suppose that as long as there are non-alcoholic drink options, then it's probably legal (and you don't have to actually drink it, just pay for it). Hypothetically, you could have two drinks included with admission (cover) and it's effectively the same thing. (OT, but maybe strip club hound should make "no drink minimum" tip #51) Where I club, the drink minimum (even choosing non-alcoholic) is about the same as cover at nearby clubs, so for me, it doesn't really matter. I've also seen cover plus one drink minimum which combined is still on par with other nearby options.

If you can't afford two drinks than you certainly can't afford the girls, so why let someone like that take up space?

I rarely encounter this and when I do the waitresses often ends up pissing me off with their attitude. Had one waitress who started her shift just before I was leaving. She tried to insist I buy two drinks at that very moment. Bitch. I had to forcefully tell her I had been there for two hours and had already drank plenty.

The other thing I hear about or see in reviews is when the waitress insists you buy both drinks at the same time. Fuck that. One drink at a time is enough.

Clubs that pull this shit never see me again.

When you lease an apartment, you pay for the first month, but you typically promise to rent it for 5 or 11 additional months. Same idea I think. They can't sue you for buying them but not drinking them, because a plaintiff has to show they suffered an actual loss due to the defendant's failure to perform on a contract.

It has been a very long time since I have seen the 2 drink minimum in a club. They can make you buy it but they can't make you drink it. If I ever run into one again, I'll probably just leave.

Many years ago the wife and I had dinner at a nice restaurant in Griffin GA and on the menu was a note that there was a maximum of 2 alcoholic drinks allowed.

I used to visit a club that had a two drink minimum sign posted. Most waitresses recognized me and knew I drank but would stop for an hour or two before leaving. Anyway I saw no sign about a 2 drink minimum per empty table you move to. A new waitress gave me a hard time when I jumped to an empty table. I gave her a harder time right back. I bought 4 beers more that night but I got each one. I bought all my beers at the bar when I saw her attempting to get beers at a table I might be sitting at. I was a regular and if an employee wanted to give me a hard time, I knew how I would treat them.

The club was pretty empty and I was drinking most of the time. If you tick off a regular customer, it could cause a loss in income or business. She didn't work there longer than a month or two. I was wondering if she ticked off others as well.

I kinda have to agree with Diva 1975. Basically the reason for the minimum is so the riff raff don't come in and just pay a cover or get a free cover and not spend a dime. I've seen guys come in sit down at the stage , ogle the girls and never buy a drink never tip a dancer never buy a dance just come for a free show. I don't think the 2 drink minimum means it has to be alcohol. In the clubs I go to that have a 2 drink minimum it can be Pepsi or bottled water or anything they sell. I've paid for both and had them keep one back on ice. Another club gives you two tickets that you can cash in any time you want. Usually after they get to know you and know you spend money they will waive the 2 drink minimum. At least that's my experience.

In some clubs, it is impossible to tell which tables are being served by a particular waitress so I don't bother to try to find out. One club has some hot waitresses. I often have two or more waitresses asking if I want a drink now. They remember getting a bigger tip on occassion. I think a couple of waitresses look better than over 90 percent of the dancers in one club. I've thought about going out with one waitress. She does look better than the dancers. She caught me looking at her the other night and immediately came over and asked if I wanted something.

Diva has a point, but I think that problem would be solved better by requiring each customer to buy $ 10 - 20 worth of script that the dancers could trade for cash at the end of their shift. Some custies drop 3 figures for drinks, but just stare at the stage show all night, and never even tip a single dollar.

That's true ibba. I also think making the customer buy two drinks at once is classless and rude.

I've rarely had the chance to visit a club with a 2 drink minimum, but I know 2 things: 1)It doesn't have to be alcohol and 2)They never enforce it. I think all they really care about is that you have a drink in hand, and the one juice bar I visit regularly doesn't even care about that if you have a wristband on (which means you bought a lap dance).

I was told about a two drink minimum at the Platinum Plus in Greenville last year. Never before or since has anyone made an issue of the fact that I may or may not drink. I am not sure if it came from the waitress trying to get a tip in an empty club or management, but when I was informed of this I got up and said I would be going to another local club. It was about 2 in the afternoon.

Geez, guys...every time you pay a cover you're being forced to pay prior to entry. Why is that any different from a drink minimum? Hell, they can charge whatever they want for whatever they want. If you don't like it, don't come in. Like some have said, as long as you're not breaking some sort of discrimination law or something like that then it's fine. You can even refuse to admit certain people. Again, as long as they're not a "protected class" or whatever. How many times have you seen the sign at the door of a business "we reserve the right to refuse to serve or admit whoever the fuck we want"? They can charge you a fee to use the restroom (some businesses do...), they can charge you whatever the hell they want. They can refuse entry to single women (oh, wait, let's not go there...), or drunk people or guys who are wearing a pink tutu and no underwear and scaring all the other customers.

Diva, it's not that I can't afford two drinks. I often spend hundreds of dollars in a club if there's talent to spend it on. I simply don't drink much, and as a matter of principle I don't like being forced to buy something I don't want. Fortunately this is rarely an issue. When I'm tipping and buying dances I've never had a club be stupid enough to demand that I spend more on some stupid drink I don't want. If they did, I'd likely walk out on principle unless the little head had his eye on a dancer and refused to let me leave. Lust prevails over principle.

Big D, I've been to PP Greenville many times in the afternoon and always only buy one drink. Never been an issue. I think you just encountered somebody having a shitty day, although that's no excuse.

Well, if SCOTUS says the feds can force you to buy insurance, I would think that opens the door for ANYONE forcing you to buy ANYTHING! :(

Jerkoffson once again proving that he/she doesn't know jack shit about the law. What a dickhead.

I laugh my ass off at idiots like jerkoffson that think that a business having a sign saying "we reserve the right......" somehow magically excludes them from obeying the law. No you cannot turn away a customer based on any of the protected classes PERIOD. NO EXCEPTION. But the next time jerkoffson wears his pink tutu somewhere...yeah they can refuse his gay ass because of that.

Lmao thanks for that horrible mental image, sclvr. Yes it is sadly true how much people like jerkison don't know about civil rights laws.
All I will say about it is to add one of my favorite quotes -"better to keep quiet and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and prove it"

Lmfao @ sclvr

Some have mentioned “hey if you can’t afford to buy drinks …”

It’s not about the cost – everyone should have the right to spend their money the way *they* want-to/see-fit and not how others want you to.

I see strip clubs similar to shopping – a PL goes to a strip club to spend $$$ on what he wants and on whom he wants – not on subsidizing every single dancer just b/c she is there (i.e. having to tip *every* dancer); not on subsidizing the bouncers; floor hosts; etc; not on having to pay a forced valet charge; have to tip a bathroom attendant that often times just sits there and just hands you a piece of paper to dry your hands; etc.

I’m not a drinker so why pay for something I don’t want – and sure – I can drink water but I was at 2 clubs this past Friday where they were charging $10 for a freaking bottle of water – wtf – I know clubs need to make $$$ but it feelss like borderline extortion many a time.

And of course – “obviously* one can choose not to go – no need to state the obvious.

It seems like some clubs have their drink policies but only enforce them sporadically. A lot of clubs want to discourage guys coming in and lingering for hours without buying drinks or tipping or buying Lap Dances. I went to a club once where the policy was you were supposed to have a drink in front of you at all times, but it was a busy night and I actually had to flag down a waitress to get my second drink. I could have sat for hours with an empty glass.

I would be put off by any club that made you buy two drinks up front. I'd be okay if you bought vouchers as part of admission to redeem as you saw fit. Juggling two drink glasses just seems like unnecessary annoyance to me at a place I want to go to relax.

100% legal, but requiring the drink to be alcohol would violate their liability insurance.

I've never bought two drinks at a club, and even at the ones where I have bought one the minimum was actually two. They only pay attention to this at smaller clubs, from what I've noticed. The only time I've even been approached about it was at Foxy Lady in Miami (bought one bottle of water and they left me alone - gave it to a dancer).

I don't drink, so best of luck to any person or place who wants me to buy alcohol. I don't make the requisite 350K, but I spend enough in clubs if the talent's alright. I bet if you ask an owner whether they'd rather have the amount I spend or the cash from two drinks, their bottles would stay unopened.

If they tack on to the cover, that's fine: I'm used to high cover charges at 'regular' clubs anyway. As others have said above, it's the idea of forcing me to pay for something I have no interest in. Shoot, "make" me buy a lap dance...or give customers the option: say, $30 to get in and you have your choice of two drinks or a lap included.

Two drink min used to be common in the 1970's, where I live. But since, because of the much tougher motor vehicle rules and club owner liability rules, most drop it to one drink min.

Last time I saw two drink min, it was at a largely black place, and I questioned the door man about it and he pretty much said they don't try to enforce it.

I don't drink any alcohol myself, and I would never run a biz which serves alcohol to people likely to be driving a motor vehicle myself.

SJG

James SD: "It seems like some clubs have their drink policies but only enforce them sporadically."

My experience too. Depending on how's business that night they may forget about the second drink, or even the first drink. Or may not care how long you nurse your first drink as long as you are tipping generously and getting dances. Others however do make you purchase one or two drink tickets as you pay the cover.

As has been said, all fair game under the law as long as nobody's forced to ingest alcohol.

Go to The Yellow Rose in Austin, they will enforce their two drink limit that they claim was posted when you walked in. I was harassed by the waitresses and the manager consistently about buying two drinks. The manager had his waitresses watch you to see whether you bought them and confronted me about it. I finally told the guy screw you! Then left the building. He was a total dick! Wouldn't recommend this place!

I've never understood all the drama on here over a 2 drink minimum. The club has to make its money somehow. Buy a couple of fucking drinks already and stop whining.

^if they don't suck, they'll make money undoubtedly.