I worked at Night Shift many...

I worked at Night Shift many years ago and I hadn't been there in a long time so I decided to stop in and see how things were going. When I pulled onto the parking lot I immediately noticed there weren't many other cars on the lot (especially considering it was a Friday night). I had already heard that they had given up their BYOB format and were now serving drinks at the bar so I was prepared for that. As I entered the club through their vestibule style entrance I was shocked! The club had been completely redone and rearranged and seemed very tacky and much smaller than it was. The huge main bar/center stage was gone replaced by a much smaller bar and "main stage", the pool table was gone, and if I had been brought there blind folded I would have had no clue that I was actually at Night Shift. Once the shock wore off the door man tells me there is a cover charge (which was pretty steep considering that it was only a few dollars more when they were BYOB) and that I had to buy my first drink up front at the door!?! So I obliged and entered and confirmed my suspicion that the place was relatively empty. I walked over to the main bar and the bartender came right up and tried to sell me another drink even though I still had one in my hand that I had to purchase at the door as part of the cover. The women dancing there that night ranged from the blonde silicon filled type to the ghetto "queens" most of them heavily tattooed and with a general uninterested and defeated by life look and "performance". Several of them came over to me after getting down off of the stage and without even saying hello asked "Would you like to buy me a drink?" followed by "Would you like a lap dance?". After answering "No, thank you." to both questions they wasted no time shooting a dirty look and moving on to the next customer with the same questions and the same result. When I ordered my second drink I struck up a conversation with the bartender. I found out that some years back the owner I had worked for passed away and his son (who had a pretty bad drug habit even back then) had taken the place over and proceeded to run the place almost into the ground before finally selling the place. Apparently the current owner is the one who changed the entire format and layout of the club and in my opinion killed the environment and atmosphere that Night Shift was known for. While I worked on my second drink I watched another round of lack luster and relatively unremarkable "performances" on stage followed by the same drink/lap dance questioning when they came off stage. When my drink was empty the bartender asked if I wanted another and I told her I wanted to wait a few minutes because I was pacing myself. She turned and walked away and 20 seconds later a bouncer taps me on the shoulder and tells me "You have to buy drinks if you are planning to stay." I responded "I'm just trying to pace myself. I don't want to get hammered right away." and even chuckled a bit. The bouncer responded by scowling, tensing up and saying again "You have to buy a drink or leave." at this point I can see another bouncer coming toward us I guess either for back up or to stress the drink policy. I decided the place was terrible, I wasn't having a good time, and I surely wasn't going to be strong armed into buying drink after drink as soon as my glass was empty, so it was time for me to leave. I told the bouncer and now his co worker too "No problem. I guess I'll be leaving." and even put my hands up in the "I surrender." manner to try to lighten up the mood. Surprisingly the bouncers still saw fit to follow me to the exit to ensure I was leaving. I guess they thought I may try to trick them by walking toward the door but then instead of leaving, turn back and try to "blend in" with the other five people in the club at the time! All in all this visit was a very disappointing trip down memory lane and I will certainly never be returning. The place has completely changed and what it has become is a high priced, profit driven, unfriendly, unattractive, failure of a night club.

R.I.P. - Night Shift(and "Papa Jack" Jack Leonard) You had a good run and apparently that time has passed. Hopefully in the near future the "zombie" that is using your name will be laid to rest as well.