The place to be in New York City Wednesday night may have been Rick's Cabaret, the luxurious new adult club on West 33rd Street across from the Empire State Building.
The three-story gentlemen's club was packed with several hundred stock brokers, analysts, fund managers and other investors, plus lots of ordinary men and women who came to see their hard-earned money at work in a Grand Opening party for VIPs.
The club’s owner, Rick's Cabaret International Inc, is a publicly traded company (NASDAQ:RICK) and for many investors it was the first time they had seen the magic that has made it a stock market success.
Along with invited VIP guests, more than a dozen reporters were on hand for the opening, including writers for The New York Times and Dow Jones as well as adult industry and New York City publications.
“The club definitely exceeded my expectations,” said one VIP at the opening. “It's an amazingly friendly place, with gorgeous girls and an attitude that they are all there to make sure you have a great time. The food was also terrific. Everybody in our party was having a great time and I feel very confident after seeing the club in action.”
“It was a sensational opening,” said Rick’s Cabaret CEO Eric Langan. “We couldn’t be happier and from every report that’s exactly how our customers felt.”
More than 100 entertainers and waitstaff greeted guests for the grand opening, which started at 7 p.m. with a sit-down gourmet dinner for invited guests prepared by the club’s executive chef, Daniel Cohn, who is believed to be the only chef in an adult club trained by the prestigious Culinary Institute of America.
The club’s eight private VIP suites on the third floor, where privacy is assured by specially designed opaque, velvet curtains and a chain mail outer curtain separated by diffusing LED lighting, were in constant use until the 4 a.m. closing.
Rick’s Cabaret-NYC was designed by prominent Manhattan commercial architect Joe Kleinmann. It has a main stage and a smaller pole dancing stage on the first floor and a balcony dance stage on the second floor – all visible from all three floors, which are accessed by winding staircase or by private elevator.
The walls of the club feature walnut wainscoting and are painted a lush maroon color. Each of the three floors has a different ambiance – with the main stage and bar on the first floor, the restaurant and a slightly more subdued atmosphere on the second, and the a posh VIP lounge and suites on the third floor. The girls use a large state-of-the-art dressing room, with each station having a lockable locker, well-lighted mirrors and outlets for curling irons and hair dryers. House Mom Lyndsey personally made 30 dresses for the grand opening and kept the dancers and waitstaff supplied with personal items.
The entertainers include girls selected from hundreds of applicants from the New York metro area. In addition about a dozen dancers flew in from other Rick’s Cabaret clubs in Houston, Minneapolis, Charlotte, N.C., and New Orleans just for the opening.
Rick’s Cabaret International operates or licenses upscale adult nightclubs in New York City, New Orleans, Houston, Minneapolis and other cities under the names "Rick's Cabaret," "XTC," “Club Onyx” and “Hummers.”
The company also owns the adult Internet membership Web site, www.couplestouch.com, and a network of nine online auction sites for adult products under the flagship URL www.naughtybids.com.
