I was in the area and drove past around 7 PM, half expecting a for sale sign or other sign they are truly gone for good.
Instead I saw 3 contractor trucks there and guys carrying tools and such back to their trucks. Plus the marquee now reads "NOT YOUR SAME OLD FOLLIES"
WTF?
Or no alcohol with a big cover and higher room fees? (here's to hoping)
It will be owned by the City of Chamberlee and used to host bible study sessions to reform the former sinners that used to frequent the club. The only reason anyone will get on their knees and lower their head will be to pray.
What else would you expect from 2020?
Donald Trump Jr. has brought the club and he’s going to run the club as a big game hunting lodge they will be rebranding it as Trumps Follies
It's going to be a Hooters, but they will run out of uniforms quite often.
It will be an FKK
^. I like Papi's idea. But isn't that basically what it was before ?
I'll bet parking is not going to be a problem.
To get strippers back in the building, it's becoming an Olive Garden.
All kidding aside, that's exactly what I've thought they should do if they lose the alchohol license for the future. The alchohol and nudity combination is what government has used to close clubs. By going the Mons Venus route, they take away that government hammer, can still net the same average $ per person and give the City the middle finger with loss of the alcohol tax revenue...
Wish they'd consider.
Clubs make a huge revenue off booze. Assuming they are going no-alcohol, they have to make that up somewhere. For Follies I would expect higher VIP room fees, higher cover, etc. They may even try to get a take from the dancer's VIP money. Dancers at Tattletale's have told me they have to pay $50 per half hour in addition to the $100 room fee.
I'm not sure going non-alcohol would mean the city can't do anything - IME when a city wants a club(s) out, they will get'm out sooner or later - they can pass all kinds of ordinances like a 6-ft rule; no bare-butts (no g-strings), etc - similar to what happened in Memphis circa 2012/2013 - I assume they could pass these rules even if it's a non-alcohol club.
Yes, $25-30 door fee. Rooms could probably stay about the same price but the club could look for a small cut of VIPS from the dancer. The margin is high on alchohol but the math could still work as it has in many other cities.
Papi, I agree that's a possibility but the Atlanta area hasn't typically seen that level of aggressive raids very often...they mostly use the alchohol/nudity combination to claim increase in crime....
With no use for a bar maybe the guy in the corner will get counter space to sell his goods.
If a community wants to get rid of a club they will fimd a way even without a liquor license. Union Township (east of Cincinnati) managed to shut down both of its clubs in the early 2000's by using liquor license violations on one and enforcement of various "adult entertainment" and "public nuisance" laws on the alcohol free club. The alcohol club got shut down quicker but it was just about a year later when the alcohol free club was gone.
@whodey, I’m not disagreeing that different cities have taken different strategies if they really want to shut down clubs, I’m speaking to Atlanta’s general, historical record on the level of aggressiveness. I don’t think you can apply other communities’ strategies and actions and apply them nationally.
The only non alcohol club in the Atlanta area that I can remember was Boomers and it shut down or got shut down.
I think Boomers was the only club in that county. Because it was no booze it allowed 18 year olds in. The place was filled with high school and college kids that would nurse one Coke and tip $3 over two hours.
The council approached them about converting it to a rick room but they management balked about putting carrion nuggets on the menu.
Now WTF am a supposed to do after I fuck a hairless ape whore? Eat off the pavement like some normie vulture? As if. Squawk!
Shadow, I remember Boomers...their non-alcoholic foray was a disaster. Not only the crowds you described but they didn't use the high cover model or have good VIP experiences. I did find a cute dancer now and then but it struggled to find its footing.
Is there a chance that Follies mgmt is waiting for a municipal election coming soon that might end up with a more liberal council? Just speculating but these things sometimes get fixed when certain elected officials don’t get reinstated.
Somebody quoted a former Follies bouncer saying "Even if it does reopen, it won't be the same". Perhaps a night club or sports bar?