From what I understand Chamblee has been looking for a legal way to shut Follies for years. The current pandemic may be just what they needed to finally have the authority to do so.
"Drove by just past noon and saw a convertible full of pretty ladies right in front of me trying to pull into Follies, though they couldn't because the lot was still closed up.
Saw them pull into Pep Boys next door, so I circled around to say Hey, and told them I was sorry I couldn't see them dance today. They said they called the owner or manager and got told the club won't be opening for another 10 days. Guess they thought the doors would be open today too!
So that makes it Saturday the 11th as the day. Only time will tell though."
Does this coincide with "Brian Kemp is extending the public health state of emergency until July 12"
There is another thread under Follies where this was posted a couple of hours ago:
So I learned that Follies’ license has been pulled by the city. They thought they were going to win the appeal to open up on July 1st but lost. Now they have to wait at least 14 days before they can appeal again. Their closure is not COVID related. They are legally can’t open right now.
I drove by twice today looking for them to reopen. F*ckin bullsh*t. Chamblee starting to act like brookhaven. Damn chamblee accommodating for the out of towners and new people that Are moving into the area.
So we’re looking at July 11 or July 15 now. Smh.
One girl on my Instagram thread was working at club Wax tonight.
Calm the hell down. All the clubs need Sri be closed. Trey are smart. Doing nothing but prolonging this shit. If we all took our ass home and stayed (essential world era and all)this virus would die out in a month.
Calm the hell down. All the clubs need to be closed. They are smart. We are doing nothing but prolonging this shit by being out at clubs. If we all took our ass home, essential workers and all this virus would die out in a month.
Yeah, I follow one of the dj's and a few dancers on social media. They're as in the dark as most of us, honestly. Last week, they were all posting and talking about how excited they were to reopen on July 1.
But by this Monday, they had all deleted those posts.
Chamblee has been trying to shut Follies down for years, and to be honest, Follies hasn't helped their case. When the state-wide closures for COVID hit, Follies stayed open, even though I'm sure some of the dancers had it but still went to work anyway.
I'd hate them to shut it down because it's my favorite club and is only like 5 min away from me, but I think if they stay closed for too long, they may not ever reopen (a few girls have found legitimate jobs).
@jay104 I’ve had very good mileage in oasis but that shit is trial and error pretty much. Just gotta keep trying different ones but some are there. Diamond gives follies like experience, she works in oasis.
@Brehnamedwavey - thanks for the feeeback. I’ll try them out. The last few times I went there and asked about VIP, the girls were quick to say it’s only dances this isn’t Follies. So I didn’t even both going into any detail about VIP. I’ll give it another go and ask about this Diamond chick.
I just saw someone on Twitter say that he heard the club is permanently closed. A Google search produced nothing, but a further Twitter search showed several other people saying it's closed. Saw that and logged on here for more info. Sounds like hoping for a good result in a couple of weeks is the only option, but it may be time to brace for the worst.
two of the bouncers' social media accounts claim they are only closed because of covid, and that they will be re-opening soon. both say that the rumors are untrue
Alcohol is a money maker for the club. Especially for a club that can pack a crowd. Even if you could argue some customers can do without alcohol, the some girls need it to get into "character". Club killer.
You'd be better off taking nudity off the table. Redoing VIP to make it more private (to allow "unofficial" nude) with outfits on main floor.
@goldmongerATL: City of Chamblee has been floating that bullshit "no alcohol" or "no nudity" ultimatum for years, but looks like they're using COVID as a way to force Follies to choose.
I mean, that shouldn't be a hard choice: how successful is a titty bar gonna be that says, "We don't do nudity but you can pay $10 for parking and get some nice drinks?"
I can get drunk and not see tits at home for free.
Jurassicman your right it isn't a hard choice. Most clubs will choose to keep the alcohol in a heartbeat. I've seen it happen way too many times around here.
Rationale is simple: to impose something that will likely force the club to close its doors for good.
Atlanta and near its suburbs is one of the few areas that allows both nudity and alcohol to co-exist. If a city imposes a ban, ideally the customer base would move to another club.
I'm so glad to have visited regularly since 2013. I estimate 100 visits. No regrets whatsoever it was worth a 2 hour drive. Very sad day for me if any changes come to this club.
Nothing yet. No chatter on social media either. Keeping my fingers crossed. I have faith that these guys will open. At the end of the day, they have a contract/agreement with the city to operate there until 2022. That should ultimately hold up in court and allow them to reopen.
Swung by Platinum today. The vibe was similar, and there were familiar Follies faces.. but something was still off about it. Similar, but not quite right.
@Jay104: thanks for the update (and teeny bit of hope, lol). I really like this club but I know Chamblee has been gunning for it for a while. And yeah, it was all over social media a few weeks ago (mostly with people saying it was closed but with no evidence).
@StnR: I've heard several people mention this was where a lot of Follies girls went. Would love to support but honestly still don't feel 100% comfortable venturing out right now. Plus, it's not gonna be quite as fun with everybody's faces covered up (but I get why they have to be).
Gang - just went to platinum today during day shift around 5p. Literally a follies vibe. Two of the Follies managers were running the place and about 50 girls (majority from follies). The place was packed. Went to VIP for the standard $50 for the room and whatever you negotiate with the chick. Sparky was there managing the men’s restroom (also from follies). Will be back tomorrow.
I also spoke to the manager that I knew from Follies at Platinum and he said that they are trying to appeal the decision with the city but the courts are closed, which is ultimately what is delaying everything right now. In the meantime, stop by Platinum if you miss Follies day shift. You will not be disappointed.
goldmonger - It's been reported that the club has 2 VIP rooms similar to the 2 old Follies VIP rooms by the couches. I've been told that at least 2 Griffin girls are there. Ace and Jersey. And several of the Cubans.
The 2 vip rooms are the basically the same as the vip rooms near the couches from follies. Small couch with a curtain that anyone can peek in and see what your doing. Its also right next to to the minibar located at the right.
I have not seen/heard about any vip rooms downstairs, but maybe they are fixing it or getting it ready for use.
GoldmongerATL - There are only two VIP rooms available at the moment and two more are planned to be built right next to the other two on the main floor. VIP rooms downstairs are closed for renovations. This is information directly from the manager. No issue with privacy - there are curtains and I’ve had no issues. I went to VIP there last week, yesterday and today. I always take care of the manager that looks after the VIP rooms and he leaves me alone and keeps others from peeking. It’s not like Follies where you had people walking into the room with no warning at times.
Jurassicman070320 - anytime, dude! Definitely check it out.
Pro tip: Park on the road at the side of the club (legal parking) and you won’t have to pay $20 to the valet. There are these nice townhomes down that road with plenty of parking. It does get packed and it could take a bit to find parking during the peak of day shift.
@Jay104 thanks for the review. I went to Platinum and it was decent. A lot of girls from Follies were in there but it really wasn't the same. I also took your advice and parked by the townhomes down the road but I got a ticket and I saw other cars with tickets on them.
What was the ticket for? I parked on the side road by the town homes also. There are marked street parking spaces and they are not posted for residents only, unless something has changed.
@doctorevil maybe that was it. I didn't park in the marked street parking spaces. I parked on the other side of the street. I thought it was cool because they were a lot of other cars there
@Jay104 this happened to me on Friday. It's only a $25 "General Parking Violation".
My theory is that Platinum was never that popular but since a lot of folks from follies are going there and people are parking by the Townhomes, the Karens in the neighborhood started calling the police. Makes sense. I wouldn't want all you pervs parking in my neighborhood either :)
I ran into a girl that said she was ex-Follies at Oasis today. Her 5th day at Oasis. She said the liquor license appeal is being delayed by the city. She said the general consensus of the ex-Follies staff is it will never reopen and they are all finding jobs at other clubs. The owner even suggested they look elsewhere until the situation plays out. That's not a good sign.
Chamblee has wanted Follies closed down for a long time and I figured they would use the current pandemic to finally get their wish. Most state and federal businesses are actually open, though. They're probably saying they're "closed" to stall the club into closure.
I hate this. I had a little hope a few days ago but the longer they're out of commission, the longer it will take to get back to normal.
I was holding out until I wrote my review (which I’ll still write, just been a bit busy). But it’s true. Follies of Chamblee might be done. But platinum is follies buckhead, most of the staff is there and so are the girls. Not sure how long it will last there with $500K townhomes built right behind it. But hey, platinum/shooters alley buckhead/Kamals/platinum 21 has been there way before those Beazer townhomes came. Gentrification can be a bitch.
500K townhomes??? Jesus, I thought stuff was supposed to be cheap out that way? Those are Cali home prices. Well besides SF and all the peninsula cities, which are incredibly pricey.
Sad news to hear that Follies might be done. It was one of the strip clubs that was on my list to visit solely because of its legendary status on these forums.
Perhaps the Follies brain-trust may be thinking now may be the time to deal with the inevitable and proceed to the next phase of Follies someplace else less-problematic than Chamblee (perhaps some.small city or some unincorporated area?); and Platinum may just be a placeholder - perhaps they may not see it as worth it to restart in Chamblee to have to cease operations permanently in the not too distant future.
Not saying this is what will likely happen but could be a kinda hail-mary option.
I agree with @Papi_Chulo. Platinum is probably temporary. If Follies had problems in Chamblee, imagine what problems they'll have in Buckhead a few feet from $500k+ townhomes. I predict that those folks will start pushing back and the club will start being harassed.
I think Club Diamond would probably be the best bet since the club wouldn't be harassed by the people that live around it. Imagine being in VIP and the fire department bursts in like they did a few weeks ago at Platinum. I wish we could move the follies dancers and management to Club Diamond so that we don't have to deal with that crap.
Apologies if this has been covered elsewhere (don't have VIP access, so can't read full reviews) but I'm seriously thinking about trying it out today and just wanted to confirm two things:
1. Outside of wearing a mask, are there any other precautions in place (temp check) before you enter?
2. Price-wise, how does it compare to Follies (i.e. cost per dance)? I know that VIP security is the same and valet is $20.
@joewebber Heard it from a buddy who heard it from a girl. The girl also said that the valet put up cones on the street by the club because people were getting towed. Maybe somebody can confirm next time they go and report back?
I just went today and wanted to share my experience for those who haven't been and are tempted (or even those who have gone recently and wanted to compare notes):
I went today, Monday, at around 2:30pm. Lot was pretty much full. To answer a question I had posed to the group earlier: they ask you wear a mask AND my temp was taken, which offered a little bit of relief.
I went to the bar to get a drink to loosen up (which took about 15min, by the way, even though it was only three of us there. Not sure if it was just the wrong lady tending the bar this day but she was rude and took forever).
While I was waiting for my drink (a simple damn beer!), I kind of surveyed the place and ended up chatting with the guy next to me for a little bit, and we both summed up Platinum vs. Follies this way: it's like going to Applebee's when Chili's is closed. It's half the size, you basically get the same stuff you would at the other place but it's not as good, and yet...even an imitation of the real thing is better than nothing.
I'm glad I went because it filled the stripper-less void I'd had since January, lol. It's definitely sporting a lot of familiar Follies faces (ran into someone I knew really well as I was leaving, actually). I did check a few comments under the Platinum section on this site and would say that I agree about the songs (it feels like the DJ cuts them off earlier than he should, so you're not REALLY getting your full dance time).
I didn't risk parking on the street, so I did the $10 valet. If you're partial to a particular race, I will tell you that I was there for about 3 hours and the VAST majority of the dancers were Hispanic (even the light-skinned girls I assumed were white were actually Latinas). There were a few black girls but they mostly hung out with the guys playing pool or just talked to each other in a corner. Very little interaction with people coming in, at least from my experience today. I'm black myself and tend to gravitate towards that group, but I'm open to anyone who's willing to sit in my lap and pretend like I'm a hot Santa for $10 or $20, lol.
Oh and FYI: I talked to both someone there and someone online today and each of them said Follies is NOT closed for good (as Jay104 mentioned, they have an agreement with Chamblee that is good until 2022). Both said they will be opening "soon," though no date was given.
Not really a reliable update, but I have to tell the tale. I was talking to a customer of mine that I have taken to Oasis twice when he was in town. He knows the clubs in Atlanta.
He was telling me he went to his local club and ran into a girl who danced at Follies until it closed. She told him it was iffy that they would reopen anytime soon, she went back to her hometown to dance because she needed to make money. She went home right after they closed but has been monitoring the situation.
Talked to an ex-Follies girl now at Oasis. She said a few days ago a Follies manager reached out to her to see if she would come back when they reopened. He said it would be "some time in September". Maybe they have a court date now?
I don't think Follies has to reach out to dancers to come back. They only need to announce the day they will be reopening and they will have more than enough dancers at the door waiting to be let in.
83 comments
"Drove by just past noon and saw a convertible full of pretty ladies right in front of me trying to pull into Follies, though they couldn't because the lot was still closed up.
Saw them pull into Pep Boys next door, so I circled around to say Hey, and told them I was sorry I couldn't see them dance today. They said they called the owner or manager and got told the club won't be opening for another 10 days. Guess they thought the doors would be open today too!
So that makes it Saturday the 11th as the day. Only time will tell though."
Does this coincide with "Brian Kemp is extending the public health state of emergency until July 12"
Hope to see you guys from a corner high-top soon!
So I learned that Follies’ license has been pulled by the city. They thought they were going to win the appeal to open up on July 1st but lost. Now they have to wait at least 14 days before they can appeal again. Their closure is not COVID related. They are legally can’t open right now.
Not looking good for them.
So we’re looking at July 11 or July 15 now. Smh.
One girl on my Instagram thread was working at club Wax tonight.
I feared this
Me too.
But by this Monday, they had all deleted those posts.
Chamblee has been trying to shut Follies down for years, and to be honest, Follies hasn't helped their case. When the state-wide closures for COVID hit, Follies stayed open, even though I'm sure some of the dancers had it but still went to work anyway.
I'd hate them to shut it down because it's my favorite club and is only like 5 min away from me, but I think if they stay closed for too long, they may not ever reopen (a few girls have found legitimate jobs).
Man I was in love with the Follies day shift.
I just looked at usasg and the same guy is posting again he has "inside info" they are permanently gone.
You sort of have to contact trace this info. Are you seeing people repeating what they have read elsewhere or people with somewhat direct info?
He say that the city is keeping them closed until the 31st. When they reopen they can have alcohol or nudity but not both.
Does anyone really need alcohol to enjoy Follies? I do not but this may be a deal killer for some on this board. Assuming this is good info, thoughts?
You'd be better off taking nudity off the table. Redoing VIP to make it more private (to allow "unofficial" nude) with outfits on main floor.
I mean, that shouldn't be a hard choice: how successful is a titty bar gonna be that says, "We don't do nudity but you can pay $10 for parking and get some nice drinks?"
I can get drunk and not see tits at home for free.
Atlanta and near its suburbs is one of the few areas that allows both nudity and alcohol to co-exist. If a city imposes a ban, ideally the customer base would move to another club.
Anybody know anything new about their status?
Are any of the Griffin girls or other white dayshift dancers there? I know at least one moved to Tattletele's
I have not seen/heard about any vip rooms downstairs, but maybe they are fixing it or getting it ready for use.
Many thanks for the report. Both your info and what I've heard from a few others now really make it sound like Follies: Version 2.
GoldmongerATL - There are only two VIP rooms available at the moment and two more are planned to be built right next to the other two on the main floor. VIP rooms downstairs are closed for renovations. This is information directly from the manager. No issue with privacy - there are curtains and I’ve had no issues. I went to VIP there last week, yesterday and today. I always take care of the manager that looks after the VIP rooms and he leaves me alone and keeps others from peeking. It’s not like Follies where you had people walking into the room with no warning at times.
Jurassicman070320 - anytime, dude! Definitely check it out.
Pro tip: Park on the road at the side of the club (legal parking) and you won’t have to pay $20 to the valet. There are these nice townhomes down that road with plenty of parking. It does get packed and it could take a bit to find parking during the peak of day shift.
I’m sorry that happened to you, man.
@Jay104 this happened to me on Friday. It's only a $25 "General Parking Violation".
My theory is that Platinum was never that popular but since a lot of folks from follies are going there and people are parking by the Townhomes, the Karens in the neighborhood started calling the police. Makes sense. I wouldn't want all you pervs parking in my neighborhood either :)
Chamblee has wanted Follies closed down for a long time and I figured they would use the current pandemic to finally get their wish. Most state and federal businesses are actually open, though. They're probably saying they're "closed" to stall the club into closure.
I hate this. I had a little hope a few days ago but the longer they're out of commission, the longer it will take to get back to normal.
Sad news to hear that Follies might be done. It was one of the strip clubs that was on my list to visit solely because of its legendary status on these forums.
Not saying this is what will likely happen but could be a kinda hail-mary option.
I think Club Diamond would probably be the best bet since the club wouldn't be harassed by the people that live around it. Imagine being in VIP and the fire department bursts in like they did a few weeks ago at Platinum. I wish we could move the follies dancers and management to Club Diamond so that we don't have to deal with that crap.
1. Outside of wearing a mask, are there any other precautions in place (temp check) before you enter?
2. Price-wise, how does it compare to Follies (i.e. cost per dance)? I know that VIP security is the same and valet is $20.
Thanks in advance.
What????
I just went today and wanted to share my experience for those who haven't been and are tempted (or even those who have gone recently and wanted to compare notes):
I went today, Monday, at around 2:30pm. Lot was pretty much full. To answer a question I had posed to the group earlier: they ask you wear a mask AND my temp was taken, which offered a little bit of relief.
I went to the bar to get a drink to loosen up (which took about 15min, by the way, even though it was only three of us there. Not sure if it was just the wrong lady tending the bar this day but she was rude and took forever).
While I was waiting for my drink (a simple damn beer!), I kind of surveyed the place and ended up chatting with the guy next to me for a little bit, and we both summed up Platinum vs. Follies this way: it's like going to Applebee's when Chili's is closed. It's half the size, you basically get the same stuff you would at the other place but it's not as good, and yet...even an imitation of the real thing is better than nothing.
I'm glad I went because it filled the stripper-less void I'd had since January, lol. It's definitely sporting a lot of familiar Follies faces (ran into someone I knew really well as I was leaving, actually). I did check a few comments under the Platinum section on this site and would say that I agree about the songs (it feels like the DJ cuts them off earlier than he should, so you're not REALLY getting your full dance time).
I didn't risk parking on the street, so I did the $10 valet. If you're partial to a particular race, I will tell you that I was there for about 3 hours and the VAST majority of the dancers were Hispanic (even the light-skinned girls I assumed were white were actually Latinas). There were a few black girls but they mostly hung out with the guys playing pool or just talked to each other in a corner. Very little interaction with people coming in, at least from my experience today. I'm black myself and tend to gravitate towards that group, but I'm open to anyone who's willing to sit in my lap and pretend like I'm a hot Santa for $10 or $20, lol.
Oh and FYI: I talked to both someone there and someone online today and each of them said Follies is NOT closed for good (as Jay104 mentioned, they have an agreement with Chamblee that is good until 2022). Both said they will be opening "soon," though no date was given.
He was telling me he went to his local club and ran into a girl who danced at Follies until it closed. She told him it was iffy that they would reopen anytime soon, she went back to her hometown to dance because she needed to make money. She went home right after they closed but has been monitoring the situation.
They were at a club in Canada, LOL!