sinclair's Review

I went to the That One Place Lounge (TOP Lounge) several nights while working in Idaho Falls. TOP Lounge is a bikini club, and dancers are not allowed to strip any clothing per county laws. There is a $10 cover charge after 20:00. There is a reduced cover of $5 from open until 20:00. Your ID gets checked at the door no matter how old you are. You also get wanded with a handheld metal detector. Smoking cigarettes is allowed inside, but vapes are not allowed inside. The reason behind this is that a lot of people smoke marijuana in vapes, and marijuana is illegal in Idaho. TOP Lounge operates in a county that is heavily Mormon and against adult entertainment, so the owners are very careful not to lose their adult entertainment license. TOP Lounge is one of the smallest clubs I have ever been to. I would guess it is under 1,500 square feet. The bar is to the left as you enter, along the front wall. The stage is up against the left wall. There is a billiard table and an ATM to your immediate right as you enter. A narrow walk-in closet on the right wall is where private dances take place. The ATM had a maximum withdrawal of $200 and a $5 fee per transaction.

This club serves only beer and drinks below fourteen percent alcohol. TOP Lounge can not mix its own drinks. It can only sell prepackaged alcoholic beverages. I counted on the wall behind the bar seventy-two different beers and packaged alcoholic beverages. They sell Joose, which is a fourteen percent alcohol malt beverage. They sell Slrrrp Shots, which are thirteen percent alcohol. These flavored Jello shots are $3.25. Domestic beers like Budweiser are $3.50. There are also beers priced at $3.75 and $4. For example, Angry Orchard is $4. There is a Happy Hour from open until 20:00 when all drinks are $1 off of regular price.

A typical night will have anywhere from four to six dancers working. Most of the dancers are in their younger twenties. About half of them moved to Idaho from out of state, and the rest are ex-Mormons. I’d rate most of the dancers in the 7 to 8 range with a few lower. Local ordinances require ass cheeks to be completely covered. As a result, dancers are required to wear tan boyshort underwear with their bikini bottoms over them. Customers cannot touch the entertainers at the stage, but dancers can touch the customers. Most of the dancers kissed my face when I tipped the stage, and a couple mouthed my neck like they wanted to give me a hickey. One dancer told me she made $700 over three weeknights and seemed content with that. It seems dancers don’t make crazy money here, but they still make more than a normal hourly job. Most of the dancers’ money comes from stage tipping. Few private dances are sold.