The Jolly Roger is dead, dead,...

The Jolly Roger is dead, dead, dead. The owner packed it in and locked the doors without notice to employees. It's unfortunate because "The Roger" had a special quality all its own. Once upon a time this bar was the most wide-open stripclub in the metropolitan area, with dancers ranging from scary ugly to beautiful. They crammed a lot of action into a tiny space that saw its last major renovation sometime in the 1950s. Among its other charms it was cheap. The bartender would sorrowfully ask "Two dollar cover charge?" with an expression that suggested that he expected prospective customers to walk out rather than surrender that grand sum. A few Jolly Roger girls have resurfaced at other clubs, but for some, the bar was the only place they had a chance. As other contributors have noted, the city has put an end to new cabaret licenses, so where Rock Island proudly boasted three clubs, the Body Shop is the last one in business. The other casualty, The Tiger's Den, rates its own obituary, but that falls outside the scope of this review.