Houston's Drive-Thru Strip Club A First In Texas Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

KEY POINTS

Vivid Gentleman's Club in Houston offers 'strip thru' fast-food take-out service
Motorists are entertained by women dancing to songs while waiting for their to-go orders
Entertainment venues get creative to find new ways to survive in era of social distancing

Want fries with that shake?

The owners of the Vivid Gentleman's Club in Houston have taken the basic fast-food drive-thru concept to a new level by launching Texas' first "strip-thru" club for motorists.

Vivid's strip-thru is a creative new solution to the social distancing inconveniences imposed by COVID-19 on the entertainment industry, including bars and restaurants.

The strip-thru concept works like any fast-food drive-thru window. In Vivid's case, a customer in their vehicle enters a giant pop-up white tent, which oddly resembles the tents where COVID-19 drive-thru tests are conducted. The dancers appear behind steel barricades while they entertain.

Each car inside the tent can stay for the length of two songs, or approximately 10 minutes, to watch barely clad females (with and without face masks) dance while the customers await delivery of their burgers, nachos, chicken sandwiches, jalapeno poppers and authentic Italian pizza. Six packs of beer also are available.

General manager Gino DiLollo said the two-song limit is so customers are "able to get some live entertainment” while their food is being prepared. The owners say the new format is for their employees since they don't expect typical fast-food fans to wait through a strip-thru show lasting about 10 minutes.

“We racked the numbers and thought ‘should we do it?’ and realized that IF we do it, we’re doing it for the entertainers, the staff and employees,” he said. “Because to keep us open, we just can’t do the numbers. We’re not making any money. This is purely for the staff.”

The revolutionary move comes as bars remain shut down statewide because of COVID-19 but have the option of offering to-go sales. The gray area gives strip clubs the chance to exploit the loophole. Nothing in Texas' guidelines control what a customer can see while waiting for to-go service.

Vivid is not the first strip-thru club in the U.S. That honor belongs to the Lucky Devil in Portland, Ore., which has been operating as a strip-thru since the COVID-19 crisis began.