Slipping away.

Have been there many times over a 30 year span. Going south out of Valparaiso, FL on John Sims Parkway, turn right on Old Hyway 20. Go down a wooded road about 1/2 mile and you will be at The Matador Club. If you drive past it by 50 yards you will hit the security fence of Eglin AFB. An uninviting, one story building with plenty of free parking. Cover at the door $5. Step inside past the doorman to the far left are the bathrooms. To the left of the door are a few pool tables. Straight ahead is a raised rectangular stage that runs toward the back of the building. It’s about 3’ off the ground. There are no chairs or stools at that stage. Directly behind the stage, and running along the back wall is the bar.

To the right of the door is a lot of round tables and chairs. To the far right is the stage with one pole. It has plenty of chairs at the rail. This stage is maybe 6” up with a tip rail wide enough for a girl to sit of it. The lighting is poor. To the right of the stage is the girls dressing room. Behind the stage is the DJ booth. To the left of the stage is the lap dance room.

A domestic bottle beer was $5. The bartender that particular night was the owner. Of the 10 or so girls working, none were more than a 5 or 6. Historically it had been said that The Matador was a place where old strippers went to retire. Though, the club had always employed a variety of girls and ages, the more mature were always fun, skilled, and not that bad looking. Also they in the minority of of dancers. The Matador for years ran a broad spectrum of shapes, sizes and colors with a 10 thrown in from time to time.

The girls working danced the main stag in single rotation with some more enthusiastic than other. For a nude club, there was not much stripping. The customers were young for the most part. They sat mostly in groups. The girls, when not dancing, appeared to hang around casually with the customers. There didn’t seem to be a lot of hustle going on.

The customers would sometimes drift up to the stage and tip the dancer. In the 45 minutes I was there I saw one customer take a girl back for a private dance. I overheard one dancer offer a dance to a customer at the bar for $40. He passed and she moved on. The bar was lacking the in customers, energy, and entertaining dancers as it had in the past.