Business over Pleasure

Capitalism *always* wins when prime real estate in a growing area is occupied by an adult business. I witnessed it first hand in Boston (Combat Zone), Stamford CT (when large employers started moving operations there from NYC) and Long Island City NYC (one subway stop from a once thriving part of Midtown Manhattan). When the money rolls in for luxury apartment buildings, hotels, and associated support amenities, the seedier businesses get pushed out. But this story didn't bother me as much as some of the others I've seen because at least, in this instance, capitalism didn't get a lot of aggressive support by local government and law enforcement. In each one of the other instances I mentioned, adult business were continuously raided and/or shut down until they capitulated. That's the part I really hate. If this guy just sold out, which seems to be the subtext here, then at least this happened organically.

Great location (I guess maybe too good it looks like) and nice as fuck place. But they wanted charge $50+ for shit dances fuck it.

Back in 2020 the Atlanta, in mid town Atlanta, a prime location was sold for 30 Million after the owner passed away. But the family decided to not sell and is now owned by the family trust. It was never my type of club but was very popular with out of town businessmen. Recent reviews and reports indicate that the family trust doesn't know how to run a strip club and it has lost it's reputation. I think it is only a matter of time before some ones buys then out.

The Atlanta "Cheetah".

Capitalism, as a system, results in the greatest benefit to the most people. Walmart is the best example. It wiped out Mom and Pop businesses across the country, especially in small towns. But, it gave everyone lower prices. I think the lesson for club owners is to put your club on land that will never be desired by a developer. Unless you want to be rich some day.

business question. say that family sold the strip club property in atlanta for example 15 million. could they have then go open up at another location and just use the license(s) from the old location or would the family have to start all over again with the licensing process?

@rattdog - I've been told that licenses are for a specific location and a new license would have to applied for which is almost impossible in Atlanta.

^in practice a lot of cities are like this. You can sell a club that has been grandfathered in, but opening a new club is almost impossible, even if it doesn't serve alcohol.

That’s the thing. Some locations were once out of the way or less desirable but the city makes it hard to move. Capitalism doesn’t have intentionally burdensome permits.

I knew someone who owned 7 upholstery stores. One day, he added up the value of his real estate. He retired a rich man.

Adult entertainment is not being forced to shut down. The owner is choosing to sell because he is going to make out better financially selling the property to a real estate developer than to keep operating it as a strip club. Face it, gentlemen's clubs are not doing the business they were doing in the 1990's and early 2000's. Nowadays, even if a club gets a lot of people in the door, many of them are the Dollar Tree crowd.

"the Dollar Tree crowd" I took that personally

A lot of future millionaires shop at theDollar Tree. Go read The Millionaire Next Door.

Watch the movie “The Founder”. It’s about Ray Crock(sp?) and the McDonalds hamburger empire. Per the movie, Ray is working insanely hard to spread dozens to hundreds of franchises everywhere but he’s making comparatively very little money. He signed a lousy deal with the McDonalds brothers who were in it, and the ultimate bosses, to meticulously keep each franchise to the high standard of the original McDonalds. Per the movie, Ray Crock is going broke despite the franchises popping up absolutely everywhere. Then Ray Crock meets a sharp, oily slick attorney. The attorney reviews the contract then says to Ray “you aren’t in the hamburger business, you’re in the real estate business”. The franchises could do what they needed to serve hamburgers but the important item was each franchise needed a prime location of land to build the franchise on. So goes the movie of the most successful restaurant-eer in history. The food was a smaller player in that story, real estate is what made him the king. If you’re a strip club or a used book store or a mom & pop coffee stop in a burgeoning area where real estate prices are skyrocketing? Start looking now for another location in a cheaper section else start writing your obituary. That is capitalism for all its good and bad.

^ Brahma, I think part of the point being made here is that the way the licensing works in the vast majority of jurisdictions, if you're a strip club as a practical matter, you CAN'T move. So it's either stay in business where you are or sell and get out of the business because you can't move the license and it's nearly impossible to get a new license in a new location.

You also had escorts and hoes and massage parlots for many years, and now onlyfans girls and the seeking site and pornstars or insta models who tour the country. There’s a major scamming problem in the industry, and you also have rappers promoting behavior like blowing hundreds in stage tips. Arent the popular clubs in atlanta or nyc renowned for being horrible for extras or even basic lapdances. Those licensing laws shouldn’t exist to begin with.