WOONSOCKET, R.I. (WBZ NewsRadio) — A Rhode Island strip club has partially reopened, minus the live dancing.
Rhode Island Doll’s owner Andy Noyes said he has lost $75,000 from being closed during the pandemic. Now, the strip club is open for outdoor dining on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights.
Noyes had set up a stage outside and planned on having live dancing during dinner hours, but the city would not allow it.
“There’s no entertainment going on anywhere right now. They’re not issuing any entertainment licenses,” he said.
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Instead, Noyes has some of the club’s 65 subcontracted dancers seating dinners.
“We do have some of the girls acting as hostesses so they can still talk to customers and sit down and have dinner with them, and seat them at their table,” Noyes said. “Kind of like at Hooters.”
Noyes said the dancers cannot collect unemployment, so he set up a tip bucket for a dancer relief fund.
“Thursday night we collected almost $1,000,” Noyes said.
WBZ NewsRadio's Kim Tunnicliffe (@KimWBZ) reports
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(Photo: Kim Tunnicliffe/WBZ NewsRadio)