Permanent Closure?
In the past 24 hours or so there seems to have been a thread running through social media of former Folllies dancers lamenting the "permanent closure" of the club. There are no substantive details backing this up so far as I've seen, but at least one post referenced a supposed loss in "federal court" that made the closure final.
Obviously the source is dubious at best and the lack of specifics is hard to give much credence, but given the intense level of interest the club holds for this community I wanted to report this latest discussion and see if anyone has any more concrete information they can share.
For the record, the other "info" being shared recently is a screen shot of the Google page for Follies labeled as "permanently closed," however I understand Google accepts user-submitted reports for this type of information, thus I don't consider is reliable as to legal status.
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last commentI follow a few former dancers and a hostess on IG. They posted on their IG pages that they got the official word either today or last night that it's closed for good.
Checked on Twitter, too, and saw the same thing.
The person posting on here that it was closed in August did it prematurely, but wasn't too far off.
It's still hard to find any long articles or detailed documents, but this is the only time I've seen multiple people who work(worked) there say the same thing at the same time.
Damn, it was my favorite spot :(
I know Platinum keeps coming up as a possible secondary choice for a lot of people, but I've been there a few times, and even though I see some of the same girls there, it ain't the same.
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RIP Follies.
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Damn. Only visited 3 times in 2020, never before lol. Wish I went at least a couple more times, but it is what it is. Wonder if they'll try to reopen in another location.
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@Alert94: I hope so, even though it really worked out for me: great club and only 5min from my house.
But Chamblee had been hostile to them from the very beginning, so hopefully they do open up somewhere else. Apparently Onyx may be getting its second life soon. . .
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I checked the court docket on Follies ongoing lawsuit against the City of Chamblee. The case is not over yet, but things are not looking good. This is the last entry in the docket:
09/15/2020 103 Minute Entry for proceedings held before Judge Steven D. Grimberg: Motion Hearing held on 9/15/2020 re 98 MOTION for Preliminary Injunction. Defendant's exhibit number 1 was tendered and admitted. For the reasons stated on the record, the Court DENIED Plaintiff's Motion for Preliminary Injunction. (Attachments: # 1 Defendant's Exhibit 1) (Court Reporter Alicia Bagley)(tcc) (Entered: 09/16/2020)
So yesterday they were denied a preliminary injuction. I didn't read the whole case so I'm not exactly sure that that was about, but I assume that Follies was asking for an injunction to allow them to reopen while the case continues. That was denied, so it looks like they will stay closed until the case is resolved, which could easily take many more months ore even another year or so. By then they might not be able to reopen.
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Another interesting item I found online:
WBY, INC 4075 BUFORD HIGHWAY NORTHEAST N/A • ATLANTA, GA 30345
$350,000–$1 million
Approved dollars
1
Loan
1 PPP loan approved for WBY, INC
Description Business Name Business Type Industry + Sector Employees Date Approved Loan Amount Lender
$350K–$1M loan to WBY, INC WBY, INC
ATLANTA, GA
Accommodation and Food Services
WBY, Inc. is Follies actual corporate name. They received a loan of between $350K and $1M under the Paycheck Protection Program to stay open during the pandemic. I wonder where that money went?
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^ you outted them dude
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The owners and management used the money to keep the dancers "employed" giving them the Follies VIP treatment at home. Probably the best use of government funds since Apollo 11 went to the moon.
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Damn. Feels like closing the Pyramids. A place on my bucket list suddenly gone.
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My old roommate's cousin's ex-brother-in-law knows a guy who heard it is closed for good.
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Sounds like solid info Goldmonger.
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@Mark94 - I have never been there, and without a star by my name, I can’t read reviews.
Is it like th HiLiter used to be circa 2010?
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One of the day shift managers, Jimi, confirmed it's closure on Facebook. He's promoting a Follies day at Diamonds off of Northside.
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This may be the worst thing that happened in this awful 2020.
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I just got a text from my daughter telling me that a co worker just told her that Follies was closed. So I guess it is true. :)
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"This may be the worst thing that happened in this awful 2020."
You win. lol
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Good old memories of Follies and Cheetah, my first strip clubs. Then I found Hong Kong :-)
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the follies manager, and his brother, as well as the floormen that are working at Platinum all seem to corroborate the same story that the club is closed.
whether this is permanent (as in never opening again), or an over extended closure until they attempt in court again is debatable. there is no sense in keeping your employees in limbo if the club won't open for a while.
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@DroidX: I saw that on IG, too. Someone had something about it being Sep. 26 from noon-10pm, I think?
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@juraissicman - yes, it's on Sept 26th from noon until 10 pm. According to Jim, there are over 40 former Follies dancers confirmed.
I had three dancers message me this week to corroborate Jimi's message. Chamblee won, and we all hate it.
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WTF
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I guess a lot of buckets have sprung a leak
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The party at Diamonds might be good way of getting some stripper phone numbers if you don't mind the lack of social distancing.
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But why is it closing? What does the city have against this club. It reeks of a vendetta
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This is much sadder news than another deal liberal bitch politician. I am grateful I was able to experience it at leaat once.
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@shadow I'll try to attend and grab some phone numbers for you. 😀
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It its related to them taking government funds then they were fools to take it. I can say with some level of authority the if you are a recipient of government largess you must be prepared to open your books to a Federal Audit. If your books are not in order then for the love of God don't take it. Do you really want to invite that 800lb gorilla to take a look inside? Especially when the politicians are looking for heads to skewer on the question "Did you really authorize this business to get public funding?"
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The court cases have nothing to do with government funds. There are two cases ongoing. The City of Chamblee sued Follies in state court and Follies countersued the City in federal court. Both were filed in late 2019 and despite setbacks for Follies are still ongoing.
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Thanks for the clarification Doc
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If you Google follies It was showing permanent closure previously....now it is showing open again if... is there any ray of hope???
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^ I'd assume if it was open or about to open that it would have been splattered all over TUSCL
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Did anybody here go to the Diamond Club "Follies reunion" a few weeks ago?
I showed up at 2pm and it was WAY more guys there than girls (everyone was just sitting around). I heard it picked up later on but I had bounced by then.
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Guys. Dayshift Follies is back and it's at VLive/Vivid off of Marietta St NW.
I just left a review on that clubs listing, and I think it's the real deal.
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