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Why so many little clubs?

FONDL
I often think about the place where my ATF worked. It's little 1-story flat-roofed cinderblock building on about a half acre of property on a semi-main road in a typical older commercial-industrial area and has been there for decades. The manager's father used to own it but died and left it to his son. Part of the building is leased out to a take-out Chinese food place. The building sits between a gas station on one side and a fairly run-down Pizza Hut on the other. It's located in a fairly large and growing town/suburban area south of Baltimore, which is rapidly becoming a DC commuter area. And it's the only club within a 30 mile radius so there's no competition.

Inside it's just one room - there's a little stage with small runway extending out into the room, sorrounded by maybe 20 seats at the rail and maybe 15 or so little tables with 4 chairs around each and a long bench along one wall. And in the back corner next to the tiny dressing room is a bar with maybe 12 bar stools, and all they sell is soda and NA beer (there's no BYOB allowed.) So total capacity is probably around 100+ and it fills up on weekends. Girls dance (if you care to call it that) nude on stage, then circulate for moderate-contact LDs done right at your table, there is no separate VIP or LD room. The place is very dark so it all works just fine. And they attract a lot of attractive dancers because (a) it's in a fairly low-income area, (b) it's the only game in town, and (c) the girls can make a lot of money here, they sell a lot of LDs and there's little in the way of house fees.

The place is open from 2 pm to 2 am (2 shifts) and is quite popular especially late at night and on weekends. Probably averages more than 75 customers on a typical week day and more than twice that on weekends. And each customer gives the house maybe $20, $13 to walk in the door and a couple drinks. The place has no employees - the girl siting out front collecting the entrance fee and the older woman behind the bar who runs the place are both paid by dancer tip-outs. Same with the DJ and waitress who are there weekend nights. There is no bouncer or anyone else. If there's trouble they just call the local cops.

Which means the owner is taking in at least $12,000 a week with little or no expenses (the Chinese take-out place probably covers taxes, insurance and utilities.) That's over $600,000 a year. This guy's got a gold mine. How many hole-in-the-wall little businesses other than strip clubs can make that kind of money? How many of us do?

10 comments

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ozymandias
•
17 years ago
Any service business in the right location that offers good service over a long time and doesn't try to fuck around doing anything unethical will pretty much be a gold mine. Some of the richest people I know are own popular restaurants, for example.

You'd be surprised at some of the little hole-in-the wall businesses that are making their owners a mint - dry cleaners, frame shops, insurance and financial planning offices, you name it.

If you want to see some sick earnings, check out an AMP like Gold Spa in Atlanta - that's pulling in $20k gross a day, easy... even paying half out to the girls, that's a $3.5 million dollar a year business. That's as much as a Borders or B&N near a major mall pulls in annually.

There's a goddamn ton of money moving around out there, just be smart, work hard, and manage risk and it's hard not to make a mint.

O.
FONDL
•
17 years ago
Except that the businesses you name either have the entire family working insane hours to make that money, or they've spent years at special schools learning a specialized trade. This guy has done neither and he does next to nothing. He now owns the business that he used to manage for his father. Except he never did manage it, the woman behind the bar, who's been there for 30 years, does - she handles the girls and schedules them, which is the hardest part in running the place. When they get really busy he'll help out behind the bar but that's it. He also interviews potential new girls, which sounds tough to me. Other than that, all he does is sit in his office and occasionally watch the TV monitors to make sure nobody's doing extras. Except for raising prices, there haven't been any changes in the club in a decade. He just sits back and collects the money. Where else can you do that?
David9999
•
17 years ago
The key factor in these gold mine types businesses is that many of them (e.g. strip clubs) are in effect monopolies or oligopolies due to high entry barriers for other potential competitors because of limited zoning and licensing or (in the case of dry cleaners) very restrictive EPA and other environmental local/state/fed rules and regulations. With certain restaurants the liquor license can be the key factor, although food service in general is very competitive, with many many struggling to survive. Why so many little clubs? Because to put a new club up in the same location or to expand the footprint etc - its usually too much hassle to try get approval from local authorities for varous permits etc and the various officials end up putting a magnifying glass over the entire operation and it invites unwanted publicity, so why bother upsetting the apple cart - just keep it (more or less) as it and keep the cash rolling in.
FONDL
•
17 years ago
David, if you're saying that a major result of government regulation is to restrict competition, I totally agree. Which is why groups like barbers and massage therapists lobby in favor of state licensing requirements. They pretend it's to protect the public but it's really to restrict competition and increase their earnings. Every trade tries to do it.
ThisOldManPlayed1
•
17 years ago
Personally, I like the 'little' clubs over the franchised or bigger clubs. Why, more neighborly, not just a number. People get to know your name and tastes in a small club.

If I were to open a strip club (not all that impossible if I win my class-action suit), it would be a small type club, but NOT in OHIO! :-)
AbbieNormal
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17 years ago
I'm also a fan of "little clubs". I think to an extent FONDL you've hit on something. A little club can sometimes pass under the radar of, maybe not local, but of state authorities. A big glitzy mega club always seems to attract attention, and requires a lot more clientel to keep it running. A small club with low cost and low profile may be a better buisness model for survival in most of the country, whereas a big club needs a major metropolitan area to support it, and a local government willing to tolerate it politically.

I'm lately very interested in Partners Tavern and how it seems to go on unperturbed.
FONDL
•
17 years ago
AN, so you've been to Partners? How did you like it? Different isn't it? It's exactly the kind of little local place that I'm talking about, it's gota be a gold mine.

I understand how these little places make lots of money, they don't have any expenses. What I don't understand is how some of the big places do. Some of them must be fronts for something else because the economics don't make any sense.
harrydave
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17 years ago
The right little club can be the best sort of experience. I would nominate Bandaids in Phoenix, although recent visits have not been so great. It has a neighborhood bar feel...uhhhh, with the naked chicks.

Don't get me started about big, glossy, greco-roman, best club in town places. Not my style. I want dark, dingy, and close.
AbbieNormal
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17 years ago
FONDL, there were many good and bad things about Partners. I think I may need one more visit to decide what I liked and didn't before I write a review. Overall it was nice and laid back. The dancers were a bit too standoffish. Even when I did approach one it was tough to get them to come back around for a dance sometimes, but the place would be a definite goldmine.

Was the other place you were talking about Choo Choo's? That's another I've always meant to visit.

I went to another small place last night, Club 35 in Fredonia NY. I've written about it before. Last night wasn't as good as previous visits, but not every visit can be a home run. There were only two dancers I found attractive. One was a little rough in the VIP (she thought vigorously bouncing on my lap was stimulating, perhaps it was...for her), the other I could tell would have been air dance/minimal contact. A review will be forthcoming on it too.
FONDL
•
17 years ago
AN, Choo Choo's is correct. It's a very hit or miss kind of place, depending on who's working. I used to especially like days there, the place can be practically empty other than the 4-5 girls working. There used to be a drop dead gorgeous girl named Angel who only ever worked day shift, don't know if she's still there or not. I haven't been there in several years but my ATF stopped by not too long ago (she has a couple of cousins who work there) and said there were some really attractive dancers working there that evening. Girls dance nude on stage. Private dances are $20 and pretty good but not great contact, depnding on the girl. Very laid back atmosphere, very little hustle. I was a regular there for about 2 years.
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