One of Houston’s “Sweet 16” gentlemen’s clubs is now under new ownership. The Clé Group has added the Colorado Club to its portfolio. Currently closed, it will reopen on July 31, partner Zack Truesdell tells CultureMap.
Formerly known as the Colorado Bar & Grill, the strip club thrived in the ‘90s and early ‘00s, drawing celebrities, professional athletes, and other high rollers. Following the death of founder Dallas Fontenot in September 2021, the venue passed to his son Dakota, who ultimately decided to sell the club, Truesdell explains. Mutual friends reached out to Truesdell to gauge his interest in purchasing the club.
“We started talking about it. We decided to make a move,” Truesdell tells CultureMap. “There’s only 16 special use licenses out there. You can’t just decide to open up one in Houston. You can open a nightclub or a bar anywhere, but you can’t open a gentleman’s club.”
Negotiations began in February. Once the parties agreed to terms, Truesdell and his partners began renovating the Colorado. Changes include state-of-the-art lighting and sound, an updated design, and multiple stages. In addition, the VIP rooms have been upgraded with new finishes. Some aspects remain, such as the club’s 200-plus taxidermy animal heads.
Similarly, the food offerings are receiving a comprehensive upgrade. Truesdell wants the Colorado to regain its status as a lunch destination. Towards that end, it will run various weekly specials and may offer a buffet on select days.
On the service side, Truesdell says servers and bartenders from the group’s other venues have expressed interest in working at the Colorado. He wants to implement the same sort of high touch, VIP service that patrons have come to expect from other Clé Group venues. While the crowd will likely be male dominated, the Colorado expects to draw women, too, especially later in the evenings and on weekends.
“We’re in the nightclub business. We know how to throw a party,” Truesdell says. “From 11 pm until close, it will be more of a party than normal strip clubs have.”
As the opening draws closer, the group is putting on the finishing touches. That includes hiring a new roster of dancers to entertain patrons.
“We’re definitely excited,” Truesdell says. “We plan to make strip clubs great again.”
Comments
All those upgrades, make sure you upgrade the talent too! That’s the most important part!
Log in to vote
Anybody have more details about the changes and reopening?
Log in to vote