Seems to be going downhill

I have generally enjoyed the Fifth Alarm over the span of three decades. Thirty years ago, it was a great divey strip joint, and over the past ten or twenty years it has been a fun place to visit as part fo the Mardi Gras group - where dancers of lower moral character, those in trouble with other bars, or those new to the area, were relegated while they kept open the dream of working at the flagship.

I've had a blast a Fifth Alarm, the Siberian outpost of Springfield strip joints (not downtown, but close enough).

I always had a one-beer rule at the fifth. By this, I mean if I did not find an attractive dancer who tickled my fancy by the end of my first beer, I would leave. This is a really good rule at this club because the dancers can get locked in with a regular patron, and if that happens they are not becoming available for an inordinate amount of time. More often than not, I did not invoke my one-beer rule because there were usually a few caucasian or latina dancers on duty. Not that I don't appreciate a thick African American woman every now and then, but when a club is filled with (very) thick African American ladies, two things happen. The clientel becomes more thuggish over time, and if I'm in the mood for something different, this club disappoints me.