Old news, but new for us.
Local strip club lineup changing
By Samantha Christmann
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Published April 22, 2016
There has been a shake-up – and a shimmy – in Erie County’s strip club industry.
After two strip clubs closed last month, a new one has opened and another two will be revamped under a national brand.
The Body Shop held its grand opening last week at 1285 William St. in Buffalo. Owner Jim Grys said the classic car and pin-up girl themed club fits right into its surrounding industrial neighborhood, which is filled with auto shops, garages and a junk yard.
“We don’t take ourselves too seriously. It’s a working-man’s club,” Grys said. “We have a dress code, but if you come in after work in your coveralls, that’s cool, too.”
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The club is trimmed in diamond plate, a metal more commonly found on the running boards of pickup trucks, and plays rock music instead of the traditional hip hop and R&B played at other strip clubs. Its DJ booth is made from a 1969 Cadillac, workers wear mechanics’ shirts and several employees dress like pin-up girls.
Grys formerly owned another strip club, Club 35 in Fredonia, which he sold. He is working on opening a second Body Shop location in Las Vegas.
Another club, Tiffany’s Cabaret, will convert two of its locations to the Scores brand under a licensing agreement with the original strip club of the same name.
The Town of Tonawanda location, at 300 Sawyer Ave., will make the transition to Scores Buffalo on May 13. The second location, near the Buffalo-Niagara International Airport in Cheektowaga, will make the switch to Scores Buffalo Airport on June 17.
Two other locations, in Salamanca and on Clinton Street in Buffalo, will remain under the Tiffany’s Cabaret brand.
The relaunch is intended to target business travelers, a company spokesman said. The club is known for what it calls its “tasteful luxury aesthetic.” Its entertainers wear evening gowns.
The original Scores in New York City was made famous after repeated mentions of it on Howard Stern’s radio show.
Just last week, two other strip clubs in Erie County closed after a dispute between the clubs’ operators and their landlord.
The Gold on Route 5 in Hamburg, formerly 24KT Gold, and Mademoiselle Gentlemen’s Club on Aero Drive in Cheektowaga were both padlocked by Rudan Holdings. Rudan said the clubs had not paid their rent in full for several years. Both of those properties have been listed for sale or lease.
email: schristmann@buffnews.com
