A long slow goodbye?

20 comments

• Papi_Chulo

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  5 years ago

  Why would they close forever? If they are closed then they don't have bill/salaries to pay other than a lease for the property and perhaps they can get some relief on that - plus what else are they gonna do, that is their business and strip-club licenses are probably hard to come by and clubs will want to hang onto those - I would think they'll hang on till they can open again and start making $$$ again and one would think there'd be pent-up demand.
• mark94

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  5 years ago

  All depends on their lease ( or mortgage ). Pretty much that’s their only major expense when they shut down. They just need to take out some of that cash they’ve been hiding from the IRS and pay the rent until things open up again. Based on China, South Korea, and Singapore, that should be about 3 months.
  
  The real issue is how many dancers will return to work. They’ve still got all their bills to pay and will need to find an alternate source of cash.
• Muddy

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  5 years ago

  All these dancers are gonna have to scatter, so these clubs are going to have to round up all that talent again. Physical SC's have been in a downward trend anyway as far as the number of them, so if you told me that we would never get back to the pre corona world it wouldn't be a stretch to believe that. Think how many clubs have closed near you in the last 10 years vs. opened up, then this shit happens. I would guess a lot of clubs that were on the fringe already won't be opening back up.
• twentyfive

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  5 years ago

  More likely is a well capitalized operator like Ricks or Deja Vu will buy up the existing grandfathered locations and further monopolize the business.
• dallas702

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  5 years ago

  My question is valid (IMHO) because it is more complicated than a rent check. Even if they are only closed for a month, they lose 1/12th of anticipated revenue, The club will have to justify reopening - often in cities that want them shut down forever, Then they will have to pay salaries, payroll taxes, and benefits for a few employees maybe even through the shutdown - or face hiring everyone from scratch (and that may not be as easy as a phone call to some of the key employees).
  
  Then how long will it take to get experienced, customer pleasing, dancers back? Many will have started posting on escort sites and won't want to return. Some dancers will have moved on to other towns where clubs didn't close (or reopened sooner).
  
  And I am not sure it will be an automatic, "open the door and they will come." Customers may NOT choose to immediately rush to a club that has been closed fr a month or two. It will take time (and more money) to stay open, pay bartenders, managers and bouncers, and keep dancers in slow clubs. My guess is this will not be easy for some clubs.
  
  I am sure many clubs will reopen. I am not forecasting the end of strip clubbing. I am wondering how many small clubs, and clubs facing official opposition from local government (look up what's happening in Jacksonville, FL) will either fail to reopen and stay open or will simply throw in the towel,
  
  Papi, I agree that the overhead drops significantly. And I appreciate that many clubs will be able to reopen soon after bans are lifted. But how many will manage to successfully reopen and stay open?
  
  mark, good points. I too, think getting the right dancers back will be key.
• grand1511

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  5 years ago

  Survival of the fittest will apply. Those not financially strong enough to weather the storm will wither and die. But when the economy returns to normal, creative operators will find ways to exploit weak spots in the ways the big boys do business and alternatives will emerge.
• FishHawk

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  5 years ago

  In my area there are/were 5 clubs. 20 years ago there were eight that I can remember and have been to. I was away for a number of years and there are 5 left. I think that the local government has rules that only those locations can have clubs. I am concerned for one club in particular. If it closes I am not sure that anyone will take it over. That might be a good thing for the other clubs. Could be it’s just natural selection.
• Huntsman

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  5 years ago

  I don’t think it will be the end of strip clubs. Not at all. But the overall numbers have been in decline and I would think this will knock out some that haven’t kept cash reserves. The other question will be whether the customer base will have the cash and/or be ready to spend it.
• gobstopper007

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  5 years ago

  I am hoping my regular club is minimally impacted. As far as my spending at that time I am continuing my regular pattern of stashing some cash into my sc fund. I figure when this is over I will have enough to really splurge. I should have 2 or 3 times what I typically spend. If the dancers I usually see are back working it should be a nice reunion, if not then I will get to know some new talent
• Papi_Chulo

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  5 years ago

  "... I think that the local government has rules that only those locations can have clubs ...."
  
  Yes - AFAIK in most cities, if not all cities, not anyone can just open a strip-club b/c they want-to or can/have-the-means - it is my understanding that cities have not been allowing new strip-club-licenses for a good-while and new clubs usually open when another has closed or has been closed for a while - I'm not a business-person nor know strip-clubs from the business-side, but I would think the # of clubs would remain fairly steady after this - if some close decent-chance another one at some point will open in its place b/c of the strip-club-license (assuming the city does not block it) - just a hunch on my part
• shadowcat

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  5 years ago

  In addition to adult entertainment licenses, liquor licenses are also hard to come by. In many cases they have to be bought from the existing holders.
• Papi_Chulo

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  5 years ago

  w.r.t. building leases - on the surface it appears to me most property owners may not have much choice but to work w/ the closed-businesses - this is affecting pretty-much every business - if they throw a strip-club out of an existing property I don't think there is gonna be a long line of new prospective tenants waiting to move in under the current conditions - again just my hunch
• captainfun

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  5 years ago

  I think most clubs will find a way to survive. This may kill the ones that were barely getting by pre-virus but most clubs will manage a recovery. Not sure if we've hit the bottom yet but it seems improbable that social distancing will still be in effect 2-3 months from now
• Bavarian

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  5 years ago

  I think strip clubs are in a better position to weather the storm. Very low overhead and few employees.
  
  Strippers will be fine as well. Every single stripper has at least one well heeled regular that they can ask for OTC.
  
• nicespice

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  5 years ago

  I'm also interested in seeing how hookah lounges last through this. Given the nature of the business, I'm sure a lot of people aren't going to be trusting hookah for a while. Hopefully the really good ones, like in San Antonio(TX), Springfield(MO), Tallahassee(FL), Orlando(FL), and Kissimmee(FL) stick around.
  
  Some strip clubs may shut down. But I think the vast majority will be just fine. At least for 2020.
• Papi_Chulo

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  5 years ago

  There is a Miami club in today's published-reviews-list (Pink Pussycat) that had been closed since the last recession (club closed circa 2010) - that club had been around since the 70s - the building remained unused until late-last-year when it reopened again as a strip-club - not exactly sure why it closed in the first-place; the club had an infamous rep over the years but it did decent business so not sure why it closed in the first place nor why it took so long for another club to open in its place.
• joker44

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  5 years ago

  Locally, I wouldn't be surprised to see a few clubs not reopen if this closure continues for several months. Clubs that were struggling before or newly reopened clubs that hadn't gathered a steady customer momentum.
• loper

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  5 years ago

  As a small business owner deeply affected by the corona virus (not a strip club), it is the mortgage, property taxes, health insurance (my own and my wife's) and the few remaining payroll expenses that going to kill me. I noticed that in Massachusetts, adult entertainment business are specifically NOT eligible to apply for an emergency loan from the state. Kind of puritanical.
• Icey

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  5 years ago

  Things will go back to normal pretty quickly. Aftet this hysteria people will be yearning to go out
• Mate27

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  5 years ago

  Icey, people don’t simply go back to normal asap after experiencing a trauma. This will have lasting affects and Social distancing will be around for some time after the #s slow.