The Penthouse Boutique was born in controversy, with local officials pulling the store’s permits for selling adult material literally minutes before the store was to begin its Grand Opening celebration as local anti-porn activists picketed outside.
What a difference a year makes.
Earlier this week, instead of protestors approximately 1,000 fans arrived at the store, some reportedly from as far away as New Jersey and New York, drawn by Vivid Girl Tera Patrick, who hosted the Penthouse Boutique’s one-year anniversary.
Patrick had also hosted the store’s Grand Opening, which went on despite the pulled permits — but with no adult merchandise. It took over a month of wrangling with the mayor and the city council before the Penthouse Boutique was running full tilt, and it’s been smooth sailing, or rather, smooth selling ever since.
Penthouse Boutique owner Dan Quinn reports that local officials are no longer intimidated by the store’s presence.
“This has been a great year for us. Our relationship with the city solidified as the year went on, and our customers have embraced our approach to Adult retail,” Quinn told AVN.com. “We’re not a stereotypical porn store.”
The Penthouse Boutique is a 10,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility with porcelain floors, crystal chandeliers, plasma screens and an electronic video catalog.
Quinn also points to a recent article in the Connecticut Post, a local newspaper, which notes that confounding the predictions of anti-porn activists, police officials have confirmed that crime rates have not risen in the area in the year since the store opened.
“The city now realizes that we run a professional, classy operation that serves the community — and porn is bigger than ever, even in Connecticut,” Quinn said.
In fact, Quinn, who holds the exclusive license on the Penthouse brand for Adult retail stores, intends to open a second Penthouse Boutique in Connecticut by the end of the year.
But that’s nothing compared to Quinn’s next step. Quinn is planning on opening an entire chain of Penthouse Boutiques, so that the brand eventually will become a major adult retail force across the nation.
Tera Patrick, for one, thinks that’s a great idea. “I absolutely love the Penthouse Boutique,” Patrick told AVN.com. “It’s an environment that is comfortable for women and couples to shop in. If more adult retailers ran their operations like the Penthouse Boutique, porn would have a much better name throughout America.”
