Strip Club Reports

[BeechNut79]

So, I'm not trying to be a D-bag but you might want to scroll 8 posts down from yours to post #1102. The entire story is there. The village officials discovered there was more than dancing going on. Did your psychic explain to you that there never was a "dancing license" to begin with? That's why it was so easy for the village to implement the dancer ban. These places all started with the "lingerie fashion shows" that were run by outside companies. That's how they were able to do it without an "entertainment" license to my understanding.

I may run this one by another psychic for a second opinion. Recently did ask one (not the one I asked about the dancer ban) whether she seeks personal escorting ever becoming legal in more if not all of the country. She replied that while sexual adventure is highly suppressed in the US and some other cultures this will change in the future because of our power of free will. We want the control in our own hands and not to be told by government what to do and how to do it, particularly when there is no harm. So, in time it will be made legal, just as it did with both gambling and now marijuana. But the feelings of shame and guilt will take a long time to go away, maybe even generations.

I feel that such companies are needed more now due to so much isolation which was happening even before the pandemic, largely due to the addiction to smartphones and the Internet, but actually going back to the AIDS scare. During the couple of prior decades it was fairly easy for most of us to get it for free. And, last but certainly not least, isn't it obvious that prohibition of this activity hasn't worked any more than it did with liquor a century ago?

[StanleyStankas]

Yes, if I understand correctly, they did not issue any special license since the girls were "visitors" from companies like Sneak Previews, Vogue Fashions (remember the Palos Park Madam?) & Helen Of Troy. They seemed to be viewed the same way as the people that stop in selling roses or tamales. I think everything changed when the bars all booted the Fashion Show companies out & started managing the girls on their own. I guess it they wanted to collect the show fees from the girls instead of that landing in the pockets of the Show company owners. But hey, I'm no psychic.

WTF was that about? I for see the girls coming back. Then pigs will fly. And, and, and. I remember a few of those names. If I recall there was always a bartender in kind of lingerie type outfit so when one walked in one knew they were in the right place. Also I do recall that the way they scooted around the license restrictions was by bringing in an outside company to produce the shows and handle the money and the transactions to the girls. In reality that worked. Problem is and I have had some experience in the private side of that game (I. E. Bachelor parties, divorce parties, golf outings) when I first got into business, it is indeed a major pain. You are dealing with girls that in their own words would tell me that if a girl is in the business they have at least one screw loose! Plus when you deal with horny dudes, money, drinks, women. It's a bad combo to begin with!

[Mayor Quimby]

If I recall that back in the day they had something like pull tabs or something like where you bought chances to win prizes. It's been so long and I am so old I do not totally recall. However, the outside companies running the dancer situation that part I do remember and of course also that the licenses being given to these establishments like uncle louie's et al were / are completely different from say scores and the place next door.

Yes, if I understand correctly, they did not issue any special license since the girls were "visitors" from companies like Sneak Previews, Vogue Fashions (remember the Palos Park Madam?) & Helen Of Troy. They seemed to be viewed the same way as the people that stop in selling roses or tamales. I think everything changed when the bars all booted the Fashion Show companies out & started managing the girls on their own. I guess it they wanted to collect the show fees from the girls instead of that landing in the pockets of the Show company owners. But hey, I'm no psychic.

[StanleyStankas]

So, I'm not trying to be a D-bag but you might want to scroll 8 posts down from yours to post #1102. The entire story is there. The village officials discovered there was more than dancing going on. Did your psychic explain to you that there never was a "dancing license" to begin with? That's why it was so easy for the village to implement the dancer ban. These places all started with the "lingerie fashion shows" that were run by outside companies. That's how they were able to do it without an "entertainment" license to my understanding.

If I recall that back in the day they had something like pull tabs or something like where you bought chances to win prizes. It's been so long and I am so old I do not totally recall. However, the outside companies running the dancer situation that part I do remember and of course also that the licenses being given to these establishments like uncle louie's et al were / are completely different from say scores and the place next door.

[Mayor Quimby]

Does anyone know why the town banned all lap dancing because of the incident at J's, even if it isn't known for sure if it was even dancer related? A psychic I saw shortly after hearing about it predicted that they would get their dancing license back. Didn't ask for a time frame though.

The during the investigation, the locals had a warrant for any & all video the bar was in possession of from all security cams. Apparently the owner had years of video from all the various cams stored including the 2 cameras right above the dance area showing everything that went on there. There's speculation as to why he had all the video saved, but that's all rumors & opinions & I am sticking to info that is confirmed to be fact Once all that video was turned over, the Mayor, & all the village officials saw the activities from the dance area as well as the deals that were being done out in the open. At that point, the village put a "Dancer Ban" on all bars that were not licensed as "Entertainment" bars

So, I'm not trying to be a D-bag but you might want to scroll 8 posts down from yours to post #1102. The entire story is there. The village officials discovered there was more than dancing going on. Did your psychic explain to you that there never was a "dancing license" to begin with? That's why it was so easy for the village to implement the dancer ban. These places all started with the "lingerie fashion shows" that were run by outside companies. That's how they were able to do it without an "entertainment" license to my understanding.

[BeechNut79]

Yep, Masalas is open for business, & can confirm what you say about new ownership. I stopped in once & they've completely redone the interior & it is nicer inside but just a regular bar & grill type place. Regardless of ownership, there is absolutely ZERO chance of any bar in Melrose having dancers even if they wanted to. That's an instant ticket to the same status as Louie's.

Does anyone know why the town banned all lap dancing because of the incident at J's, even if it isn't known for sure if it was even dancer related? A psychic I saw shortly after hearing about it predicted that they would get their dancing license back. Didn't ask for a time frame though.

[StanleyStankas]

Yep, Masalas is open for business, & can confirm what you say about new ownership. I stopped in once & they've completely redone the interior & it is nicer inside but just a regular bar & grill type place. Regardless of ownership, there is absolutely ZERO chance of any bar in Melrose having dancers even if they wanted to. That's an instant ticket to the same status as Louie's.

I mean the old playpen is a mexican restaurant and I can barely tell it's open. Imo someone I. E. A real estate agent or a management company sold a lease or buy to people that don't know the immediate terrain. I mean just the sign I saw that says they are looking for private events kind of red flagged them for me. That street is a weekday day street of commercial traffic and that is pretty much it!! The shot and a beer joints like the one just south of fullerton on the west side of heim has a steady clientele mostly catering to guys working nights that come in afterwards to mellow out prior to going back to the house and listen to their old lady b*tch and moan. I just don't see a legitimate restaurant that is not an easy in easy out franchise with a drive through making it on that street. I mean what would they offer? Gaming. That's up and down the strip these days already. Also in every surrounding strip center one will see at least one exclusive gaming place. Again I don't think the people that moved in know what goes on business wise around there. For their sake I hope I am wrong. Stosh.

[Mayor Quimby]

I dug around and it's called "Masala Grill and Sports Bar". It appears to be an Indian owned place. That being said, I highly doubt any fun is going to be had there. So don't expect any dancers there. This place probably won't last to long. I doubt people will go there without the ladies working there. Plenty of sports bars up and down Mannheim and they are rarely packed. This place doesn't have a chance.

Yep, Masalas is open for business, & can confirm what you say about new ownership. I stopped in once & they've completely redone the interior & it is nicer inside but just a regular bar & grill type place. Regardless of ownership, there is absolutely ZERO chance of any bar in Melrose having dancers even if they wanted to. That's an instant ticket to the same status as Louie's.

[Illini333]

From the mayor and mr. Illini. I reported here that the new place didn't look open even though it was confirmed it is indeed open. The last I saw as of today was that they have a sign asking people to have their events there like a banquet hall I would imagine. Ok I understand why he might do that and not be considered in uncle thomas's boys area by contrast. With all that has gone on on that strip I would believe that all of the politicos are edgy due to everything under the sun is being labeled "human trafficking". Sorry fellas that includes the downtown girls that wear two thousand dollar heels and four thousand dollar boots. And also live in a beautiful high rise condo over looking the skyline and or lake! So there! They TO are being held against their will!! Save them!!

I dug around and it's called "Masala Grill and Sports Bar". It appears to be an Indian owned place. That being said, I highly doubt any fun is going to be had there. So don't expect any dancers there. This place probably won't last to long. I doubt people will go there without the ladies working there. Plenty of sports bars up and down Mannheim and they are rarely packed. This place doesn't have a chance.

[StanleyStankas]

J's was in unincorporated Leyden but the owner made the mistake of paying to having it annexed by Melrose bc he thought the mayor and city would always be friendly to these types of places. Big mistake on his part.

Has anyone been to the new bar that use to be Js? I think it is called Marsellas bar or something like that.

From the mayor and mr. Illini. I reported here that the new place didn't look open even though it was confirmed it is indeed open. The last I saw as of today was that they have a sign asking people to have their events there like a banquet hall I would imagine. Ok I understand why he might do that and not be considered in uncle thomas's boys area by contrast. With all that has gone on on that strip I would believe that all of the politicos are edgy due to everything under the sun is being labeled "human trafficking". Sorry fellas that includes the downtown girls that wear two thousand dollar heels and four thousand dollar boots. And also live in a beautiful high rise condo over looking the skyline and or lake! So there! They TO are being held against their will!! Save them!!

[Illini333]

So I completely see where you're coming from. I always thought J's was part of Leyden as well. There were several incidents there over the years, mostly minor like a fight between the girls etc. There was one case where it got crazy, some of the girls took liquor bottles from behind the bar to hit each other over the head etc, OUCH! Each time one of these took place, it was always Melrose Park LE that showed up. If you do a google search using just the name J's Bar & Grill, Mannheim Rd, you'll see results that call it Northlake, Leyden, & Melrose. If you do an address search, it shows up as a Melrose Park address. The thing that confirms it as MP is the news articles about the shooting all list it as Melrose; https://abc7chicago.com/fatal-shooti...-park/6921842/.

Interesting that you mention other areas following suit. When the dancer ban originally was put in place. It seemed that Stone park was following suit (although I do not know that to be 100% true). You all may recall that Carls was shut down right after the shooting as well. From what I know, the SP mayor eventually lifted that ban. I'm guessing that's easier in a town that's the size of a postage stamp like Stone Pk. Not as many bureaucrats to go through I guess.

& I wonder how many people on here are old enough to remember the "just one more thing" line, LOL.

J's was in unincorporated Leyden but the owner made the mistake of paying to having it annexed by Melrose bc he thought the mayor and city would always be friendly to these types of places. Big mistake on his part.

Has anyone been to the new bar that use to be J’s? I think it is called Marsella’s bar or something like that.

[Mayor Quimby]

Thank you for this clear and concise information, mayor. Please excuse this old man's observation as I don't want to sound like lieutenant columbo again! J's meaning the physical land it was above is melrose? I am sure the plat of survey (or whatever it's called sorry) has to be cut up like a jig saw puzzle up and down heim at that point. So was this a melrose ban and the other areas not in melrose went with it as on here it is referred to j's having been in unincorporated lyden so I take it melrose still has jurisdiction. I hope I didn't take something completely obvious and turn it upside down, as usual! Thanks again for your patience and well layed out concise information. I know you know so let's leave it at that. Stosh.

So I completely see where you're coming from. I always thought J's was part of Leyden as well. There were several incidents there over the years, mostly minor like a fight between the girls etc. There was one case where it got crazy, some of the girls took liquor bottles from behind the bar to hit each other over the head etc, OUCH! Each time one of these took place, it was always Melrose Park LE that showed up. If you do a google search using just the name J's Bar & Grill, Mannheim Rd, you'll see results that call it Northlake, Leyden, & Melrose. If you do an address search, it shows up as a Melrose Park address. The thing that confirms it as MP is the news articles about the shooting all list it as Melrose; https://abc7chicago.com/fatal-shooti...-park/6921842/.

Interesting that you mention other areas following suit. When the dancer ban originally was put in place. It seemed that Stone park was following suit (although I do not know that to be 100% true). You all may recall that Carls was shut down right after the shooting as well. From what I know, the SP mayor eventually lifted that ban. I'm guessing that's easier in a town that's the size of a postage stamp like Stone Pk. Not as many bureaucrats to go through I guess.

& I wonder how many people on here are old enough to remember the "just one more thing" line, LOL.

[StanleyStankas]

OK, as for the full story, it's been covered over the past few pages, but I'll go ahead & detail it out one more time. Let's hop in the Wayback Machine one more time to the incident a couple years ago at J's. For those that don't recall, there was a fatal shooting in the parking lot after a dispute in the bar. The during the investigation, the locals had a warrant for any & all video the bar was in possession of from all security cams. Apparently the owner had years of video from all the various cams stored including the 2 cameras right above the dance area showing everything that went on there. There's speculation as to why he had all the video saved, but that's all rumors & opinions & I am sticking to info that is confirmed to be fact Once all that video was turned over, the Mayor, & all the village officials saw the activities from the dance area as well as the deals that were being done out in the open. At that point, the village put a "Dancer Ban" on all bars that were not licensed as "Entertainment" bars. It's my understanding there was discussion of more serious charges to many involved from what was seen from those cameras but apparently the village did not want the publicity.

To this day, that ban has not been lifted. Any bar in Melrose that has dancers is in violation of this & risks the same fate as Louie's. When Louie decided to bring back the dancers, it was originally "street clothes" only, & dance with "caution". The dancers were told not to name "Louie's Lounge" on any of their social Media etc. This frustrated many of them as they'd post on their Snapchat to attract their customers but could not post where. This was all in an effort to work around the dancer ban, FitnessBuff put it best with the term "open secret". Eventually after rolling for a bit, things relaxed & some of the dancers were dressing a bit more on the lingerie side we've all been used to seeing. The back room became available etc. This went on for a couple months or so, but we all know how it ended. The bottom line, is that simply having "dancers" put Louie's in violation of a village ordinance. The locals were looking the other way, but eventually, it was no longer up to LE, it was an order from village & county officials to shut it down.

Something that's been overlooked in this discussion, is that the same night they shut down Louie's, the locals also went to bust Bobbys as they had just started experimenting with ways around the dancer ban. It was VERY fortunate that there was nothing going on at the time they showed up. Only a couple girls were there but not dancing at the time & dressed in street clothes. The fact that the locals attempted to bust both bars on the same day should dispel the rumors of a young dancer etc. This was simply a Melrose Park crackdown & if there had been any other bars with dancers, they would have been included in this shutdown.

So, to address the questions I always get after posting this sort of info, Carls is still able to operate since it's in Stone Park, not Melrose. The Gentlemens club continues to operate as they have a different license & very strict rules that come with that. Those licenses were issued a very long time ago & are grandfathered in (If I'm not mistaken, the Gold Club was the Sugar Shack way back when). Also, I have no affiliation with the village of Melrose Park,(or any for that matter) nor do I have any official connection to the bars in question. I simply know the right people to get the real info from. I have posted facts that have been confirmed & this post is not an opinion piece. I have been a regular at all these places since the start of the bar "Fashion Shows". I have had soooo much fun in these places & am so very sad to see this come to an end.

Thank you for this clear and concise information, mayor. Please excuse this old man's observation as I don't want to sound like lieutenant columbo again! J's meaning the physical land it was above is melrose? I am sure the plat of survey (or whatever it's called sorry) has to be cut up like a jig saw puzzle up and down heim at that point. So was this a melrose ban and the other areas not in melrose went with it as on here it is referred to j's having been in unincorporated lyden so I take it melrose still has jurisdiction. I hope I didn't take something completely obvious and turn it upside down, as usual! Thanks again for your patience and well layed out concise information. I know you know so let's leave it at that. Stosh.

[Mayor Quimby]

The one guy I know that works for the flea told me he saw one of uncle louie's relatives over there helping take stuff out so it is indeed over. There have been rumours on here and imo they are not true. About underage employees. It just doesn't fit. I was told that back in the day the boys tried to get uncle louie and they did succeed in blowing up his garage, however he walked away. So that kind of old school guy is not going to get taken down for an underage employee. Stay tuned as I do because there are a few that check this thread and have inside info that gladly share. All I know and sorry I could not be of more help. Stosh.

Anyone get the full story on why Louie's closed? Any other game in town besides Carl's?

OK, as for the full story, it's been covered over the past few pages, but I'll go ahead & detail it out one more time. Let's hop in the Wayback Machine one more time to the incident a couple years ago at J's. For those that don't recall, there was a fatal shooting in the parking lot after a dispute in the bar. The during the investigation, the locals had a warrant for any & all video the bar was in possession of from all security cams. Apparently the owner had years of video from all the various cams stored including the 2 cameras right above the dance area showing everything that went on there. There's speculation as to why he had all the video saved, but that's all rumors & opinions & I am sticking to info that is confirmed to be fact Once all that video was turned over, the Mayor, & all the village officials saw the activities from the dance area as well as the deals that were being done out in the open. At that point, the village put a "Dancer Ban" on all bars that were not licensed as "Entertainment" bars. It's my understanding there was discussion of more serious charges to many involved from what was seen from those cameras but apparently the village did not want the publicity.

To this day, that ban has not been lifted. Any bar in Melrose that has dancers is in violation of this & risks the same fate as Louie's. When Louie decided to bring back the dancers, it was originally "street clothes" only, & dance with "caution". The dancers were told not to name "Louie's Lounge" on any of their social Media etc. This frustrated many of them as they'd post on their Snapchat to attract their customers but could not post where. This was all in an effort to work around the dancer ban, FitnessBuff put it best with the term "open secret". Eventually after rolling for a bit, things relaxed & some of the dancers were dressing a bit more on the lingerie side we've all been used to seeing. The back room became available etc. This went on for a couple months or so, but we all know how it ended. The bottom line, is that simply having "dancers" put Louie's in violation of a village ordinance. The locals were looking the other way, but eventually, it was no longer up to LE, it was an order from village & county officials to shut it down.

Something that's been overlooked in this discussion, is that the same night they shut down Louie's, the locals also went to bust Bobbys as they had just started experimenting with ways around the dancer ban. It was VERY fortunate that there was nothing going on at the time they showed up. Only a couple girls were there but not dancing at the time & dressed in street clothes. The fact that the locals attempted to bust both bars on the same day should dispel the rumors of a young dancer etc. This was simply a Melrose Park crackdown & if there had been any other bars with dancers, they would have been included in this shutdown.

So, to address the questions I always get after posting this sort of info, Carls is still able to operate since it's in Stone Park, not Melrose. The Gentlemens club continues to operate as they have a different license & very strict rules that come with that. Those licenses were issued a very long time ago & are grandfathered in (If I'm not mistaken, the Gold Club was the Sugar Shack way back when). Also, I have no affiliation with the village of Melrose Park,(or any for that matter) nor do I have any official connection to the bars in question. I simply know the right people to get the real info from. I have posted facts that have been confirmed & this post is not an opinion piece. I have been a regular at all these places since the start of the bar "Fashion Shows". I have had soooo much fun in these places & am so very sad to see this come to an end.

[StanleyStankas]

Obviously not in the Melrose area but likely better to post here for visibility.

Stopped in Thursday around 6. Standard wand check and I'd scan. There were a handful of girls with the majority of them being Hispanic. Sat at the bar for 30-40 minutes and was never approached. Felt uncomfortable taking a table just for myself so likely hindered my chances by sitting at the bar. Saw one spinner and one girl decent shape with a tear drop booty.

Anyone get the full story on why Louie's closed? Any other game in town besides Carl's?

The one guy I know that works for the flea told me he saw one of uncle louie's relatives over there helping take stuff out so it is indeed over. There have been rumours on here and imo they are not true. About underage employees. It just doesn't fit. I was told that back in the day the boys tried to get uncle louie and they did succeed in blowing up his garage, however he walked away. So that kind of old school guy is not going to get taken down for an underage employee. Stay tuned as I do because there are a few that check this thread and have inside info that gladly share. All I know and sorry I could not be of more help. Stosh.