As businesses across the state begin crafting plans to reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic, strip clubs are faced with a series of perplexing dilemmas.
As businesses across the state begin crafting plans to re-open amid the coronavirus pandemic, strip clubs are faced with a series of perplexing dilemmas.
How do you offer lap dances with social distancing guidelines? Will eager customers be allowed to tuck dollar bills into the gstrings of gyrating strippers?
These are among the many questions on the table as strip clubs formulate strategies on reopening in a radically changed environment. With dozens of strip clubs from Miami to West Palm Beach, South Florida is one of the most lucrative regions in an $8 billion market across the country.
Despite public paranoia about germs, former Gold Club Pompano general manager Sean Bishop believes demand will remain strong for the industry and that people will return once clubs are allowed to re-open.
“Guys have been rolling dice with hookers ever since the beginning of time,” said Bishop.
“We’re idiots when it comes to sex.”
But like every other business, strip clubs face an uncertain future. On Thursday, Gov. DeSantis unveiled his “Safe, Smart, Stepby-Step” reopening recommendations, which hinges on businesses abiding by social distancing guidelines such as reduced capacity, restaurant tables six feet apart and increased sanitizing.
For strip club general managers across South Florida, there’s a clear sense of uncertainty of how these guidelines will impact the business once South Florida restrictions are lifted.
“First and foremost we want to make sure we’re opening in a safe environment and maintaining a safe environment,” Cheetah Hallandale general manager Greg Jarmon said. “How to do that? Maybe we can’t open if there’s certain limitations on what you can and can’t do.”
“We obviously can’t have a show if girls have to wear masks, I
don’t think. Or if the girls can’t sit with customers. That’s not going to be profitable for anybody.”
Lap dances are consistently one of the biggest money makers for strip clubs. While some customers frequent clubs to simply take in the on-stage scenery, many opt for a more personal touch. But with the CDC recommending people maintain a six-foot distance between each other, that seemingly eliminates the possibility for those one-onone moments.
Local general managers say they haven’t been informed yet of what specific governmental restrictions will be implemented upon re-opening.
Bishop, who’s moved to Daytona Beach, said profit margins would be significantly impacted if lap dances were taken off the table.
“You’re talking about people who rent rooms for a couple hundred dollars an hour,” Bishop said. “The average lap dance in Pompano was $25 [per song]. You’re talking about making $25 every three minutes. The girl keeps $20, the house gets $5. It adds up unbelievably quick.”
While there’s no set timeline on when they’ll be be allowed to re-open, clubs are already instituting enhanced sanitizing procedures. Jarmon said Cheetah Hallandale is planning on adding more porters to wipe down rails and contemplating hydrogen peroxide misting machines throughout the facility.
Some clubs are also considering additional methods such as re-arranging and removing furniture to create more space between customers.
Another key component will be hand sanitizer. Lots of it. Pompano Beach’s Solid Gold is stocked with hand sanitizer and well-equipped to handle the current climate given their pre-existing cleaning protocols, says director of marketing Andrea Amante.
“We already have all that stuff in place,” Amante said. “Our entertainers are really good about wiping the poles down. We have hand sanitizer everywhere and obviously lots of soap and paper towels in the restrooms and kitchen. We’re a high-end facility, so it’s not slapdash.”
Some businesses outside the industry have discussed implementing cash-free policies to try and limit hand-to-hand spread, focusing instead on credit card transactions. With strip clubs heavily reliant on cash — you can’t make it rain on stage with Venmo — club operators are planning on additional sanitary measures, such as employees frequently changing gloves.
Temperature checks, for both staff and customers, are being considered as well.
The issue of cloth masks, which have become required for many businesses across South Florida, elicited varying opinions when it comes to dancers. Bishop believes an on-stage performance — complete with a mask and not much else — would be a non-starter for customers seeking a reprieve from the constant coronavirus coverage.
“I can’t imagine them wearing [a mask],” Bishop said. “It’s supposed to be a sexual fantasy, for a lack of a better term. I guess if you had something for a nurse or a doctor, yeah, but after that ... People go to these places to get away from their everyday [struggles], not experience it.”
Then again, Amante jokes that masks could potentially work in their favor.
“We do have a red room, which has a dungeon sort of feel, so I guess masks are kind of normal in there,” Amante said. “Not necessarily the medicinal sort, but everyone’s got a fetish.”