Carman Fox

Bye-bye to the Drake

ThighMan

It's in the name
Jan 19, 2005
345
0
0
Everywhere
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/story.html?id=5cb6be4d-6a05-4efd-8fdf-e32b9b8731a8&k=20986

The City of Vancouver has bought the Drake Hotel, a Downtown Eastside strip club.....

Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan announced Thursday the city had paid $3.2 million for the hotel at 606 Powell St.
Sullivan said the city bought the hotel as part of its long-term strategy to reduce homelessness. For more than three years, the hotel's 24 rooms have been vacant. Only the hotel's 220-seat pub, which featured exotic dancers, continued to operate.

But the hotel's gritty history changed this week after the city agreed to buy it and refurbish the rooms in the short term for people on assistance. In the process, it decided NOT to renew the hotel's liquor licence.
The end of an establishment that has been around forever. :(
 

TotallyTouchin

TOTALLY TOUCHABLE
Oct 22, 2005
602
3
0
42
Vancouver
I got the call yesterday

I am soo choked about the closings. My last gig at the Cecil I was told that they aren't going to be around in two years because they HAVE been bought out but had been given three years to get out.

This is really the end of feature dancing.

It really sucks for the dancers and the industry. Funny thing is that Vancouver was (with the exception of some spots in Calgary), the ONLY place where the girls (US) were able to put on a good show and be great entertainers....Toronto is great but they really don't have the same feature scene we have here...

I guess from now on people are going to have to check out Montys and the Red Lion in Victoria if they want to see the features...really sucks!!!
 
Aug 15, 2006
622
4
18
I am soo choked about the closings. My last gig at the Cecil I was told that they aren't going to be around in two years because they HAVE been bought out but had been given three years to get out.

This is really the end of feature dancing.

It really sucks for the dancers and the industry. Funny thing is that Vancouver was (with the exception of some spots in Calgary), the ONLY place where the girls (US) were able to put on a good show and be great entertainers....Toronto is great but they really don't have the same feature scene we have here...

I guess from now on people are going to have to check out Montys and the Red Lion in Victoria if they want to see the features...really sucks!!!
Actually I think Montys is closing too!!

BTW, care to share your stage name? Maybe I've seen you dance! I used to go to the Cecil 3 or 4 times a month. Still go but not as often.
 
S

Smother

we still have Mugs in New West ----- the cecil ----and the NO5 --with us.

Not sure if If I'm missing any other ones. But your right TIFF....it's a dead scene now.

I was in the same boat but in a different field....I use to play in a hard Rock band here in Van and the scene was wicked back then. We had major places to play at and i played at all of them.....ie...CLUB SODA....THE METRO....THE STING CABARET ---- CLUB KO'S ---- 86 ST MUSIC HALL ( THE BEST STAGE I PLAYED ON ) ---COCONUTS ON KINGSWAY ---i could on and on.

Now that scene is totally dead. Nothing. ALot of us were forced to pack it in. Nothing left. Plus the music style changed too.
So i know what your saying. Sucks..
 

georgebushmoron

jus call me MR. President
Mar 25, 2003
3,130
2
0
54
Seattle
Vancouver was once hyped in the media as North America's "Sin City". This was only maybe 5 years ago. On television all over North America, scenes of strip clubs and the DTES would be shown to showcase this "Sin City". But there appears to be a long-term agenda by all municipalities in the Lower Mainland to clean the sex trade up, not just Vancouver. Massage parlor licenses are now much more difficult to get, will have more surveillance and regulations, and soon we'll see a crack down on the micros (probably when Michael Ng who was charged with Human Trafficking charges gets convicted and sentenced, or Zhen Ai "Pinky" Xu gets convicted). Only independants won't be touched.

I also wonder if the No.5 is going to be targetted now that Brandy's was shut down earlier.
 
S

Smother

Vancouver was once hyped in the media as North America's "Sin City". This was only maybe 5 years ago. On television all over North America, scenes of strip clubs and the DTES would be shown to showcase this "Sin City". But there appears to be a long-term agenda by all municipalities in the Lower Mainland to clean the sex trade up, not just Vancouver. Massage parlor licenses are now much more difficult to get, will have more surveillance and regulations, and soon we'll see a crack down on the micros (probably when Michael Ng who was charged with Human Trafficking charges gets convicted and sentenced, or Zhen Ai "Pinky" Xu gets convicted). Only independants won't be touched.

I also wonder if the No.5 is going to be targetted now that Brandy's was shut down earlier.

Funny you mentioned that about no5. I was wondering the same thing.
I'm going to the NO5 this Sunday night for a few hours.
 

TotallyTouchin

TOTALLY TOUCHABLE
Oct 22, 2005
602
3
0
42
Vancouver
Doesn't help either

that the new dancers on the scene are making $35 per set. I know that would shock the shit out of a ton of people but when you are a new dancer without the feature status etc....you're making pretty much minimum wage.:rolleyes: Especially considering what you are doing it pretty much sucks.

So yeah...when I heard the drake was closing I wasn't too surprised but the thing is I was dancing at NO5 when the 5.0 came in and started busting down on private shows...that was lame.

I totally miss the old dancing days for sure....that's how I got into the biz in the first place.

If Montys is closing I'm going to totally cry! Like I know alot of out of town dancers hate going there cause we have to bring our own sheets which is totally GHETTO but that was my first peeler bar I worked in. DON'T CLOSE MONTYS!!!!:mad:

Well anyways, there may be a few good clubs and stuff but seriously..it's just not the same anymore.

If they close Slack Alices in Penticton I'll just have to be really sad. That place is wicked in summer time and a good reason for a bunch of big tittie girls to go up to the interior around this time of year.

This sucks. BLAH!
 
S

Smother

that the new dancers on the scene are making $35 per set. I know that would shock the shit out of a ton of people but when you are a new dancer without the feature status etc....you're making pretty much minimum wage.:rolleyes: Especially considering what you are doing it pretty much sucks.

So yeah...when I heard the drake was closing I wasn't too surprised but the thing is I was dancing at NO5 when the 5.0 came in and started busting down on private shows...that was lame.

I totally miss the old dancing days for sure....that's how I got into the biz in the first place.

If Montys is closing I'm going to totally cry! Like I know alot of out of town dancers hate going there cause we have to bring our own sheets which is totally GHETTO but that was my first peeler bar I worked in. DON'T CLOSE MONTYS!!!!:mad:

Well anyways, there may be a few good clubs and stuff but seriously..it's just not the same anymore.

If they close Slack Alices in Penticton I'll just have to be really sad. That place is wicked in summer time and a good reason for a bunch of big tittie girls to go up to the interior around this time of year.

This sucks. BLAH!
TIff..are you not dancing anymore??? If so..where are you next?
 

metoo113

Member
Aug 2, 2002
407
0
16
Somewhere Down The Crazy River
In the 70's in Vancouver it almost seemed that there was a strip show in nearly every beer parlor. Plus some night clubs had strippers during the noon hour like Ralphs Wooden barrel at Kingsway and Edmunds.

There was a strip Club called Isy's on Georgia, the Kit Kat Club in New West, as well as the Penthouse of course and the Zanzibar by Davie and another one on Davie who's name I can't recall.
 

HaywoodJabloemy

Dissident
Mar 6, 2004
254
0
0
Never the safest place
...and soon we'll see a crack down on the micros (probably when Michael Ng who was charged with Human Trafficking charges gets convicted and sentenced...) Only independents won't be touched...
Ng was found not guilty on the human trafficking charge, although he was convicted of other prostitution-related charges. I don't know all the details, but it sounds like the stories of the two women attempting to claim he forced them into the business were not believable.

And it seems some may be doing what they can to stop independents. See this annoyingly idiotic news item.
Edmonton Journal -
Training video set to help hotels keep out Olympic prostitution
or on
News1130.com -
...Vancouver Delta Suites manager Murray Kelsey says hotels don't want the sex trade in their buildings because it disturbs the majority of their clients. For example, doormen are encouraged not to pass along where you might find a prostitute.
WTF?! The article starts by stating a DVD has been distributed to train hotel staff on how to spot child abusers. It then immediately and inexplicably jumps to painting all escorts and their clients with the same brush. WTF does one thing have to do with the other? Unless they see the same escort repeatedly coming and going with different men, how would they even know the difference between them and any other couple? And how do they "disturb the majority" of the hotel's other customers? I suppose they can choose who they do or don't allow to rent their rooms, but do these idiots understand an escort and her client can go to a hotel room without breaking any laws?
 
Vancouver Escorts