Strip clubs flourishing in Vilnius

VILNIUS - After reading this article, you will probably form this conclusion: You're in the wrong business.

Imagine owning a club where dozens of pretty girls disrobe every night, the entry fee is 80 litas ($20) and the clientele gladly pays. In fact, profits are so impressive that work has commenced on an adjacent hotel and restaurant, and other monies are donated to charitable causes.

This fairy tale business, the Exclusive Night Striptease Club, exists at Vingriu 25 in Vilnius. Exclusive has been open for two and a half years and business is rolling along. The first such strip establishment to open in this country, it attracts only the richest segment of society - mainly loads of foreigners anxious to see Lithuania's legendary beauties baring it all.

"It's not just about dancing. You come to relax. It's a quiet place for rich people," said Robertas Merzvinskas, a club manager. "Our club is really a club."

"It's not a strip bar," said George Rybacek, another club manager. "In strip bars you can't touch the girls. Here you can do anything - almost anything."

That's for sure. "Items" on the "menu," include buying flowers for a dancer (100 litas), private dances (600 litas), lesbian shows (800 litas), and an erotic massage in a private room (600 litas). The most expensive item on the menu: a lesbian show with a vibrator will cost you 1,000 litas. Tips start at 20 litas, for the simple pleasure of watching a girl doff her bottoms semi-privately. (Of course, they do that anyway on stage for free.) It's not hard for a customer to spend >from 500 to 1,000 litas on any given night.

"For rich people that's not much for an evening here," Rybacek said. "People pay because they enjoy our atmosphere."

The club's plush seating is a far cry from the standard strip bar, the managers maintain. The private massage room has a bed (but no cameras). The club is also heavy on security guards and, the management boasts, everyone speaks English, including the girls. There is also a discount "gold card," which offers free admission and 20 percent off on drinks. The menu boasts a choice of 70 wines, which Merzvinskas reports, is a must for their atmosphere. "A restaurant or a bar must have good wine," he said.

The poles, the enduring symbol of the modern strip industry, are a-plenty here. Before the show starts, the dancers vigorously rehearse their moves, sliding, spinning and curling on the poles like seasoned acrobats. "People come here not only to see girls strip," Rybacek added.

The Exclusive management plans to open a hotel in two months, followed by a large restaurant. The managers add that their expansion plans are proof of the club's business plan and reputation.

"We have a name," Merzvinskas said.

The club can survive, they say, with small numbers of clients, although the numbers have been impressive lately. On a recent Saturday, 37 patrons came. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to ascertain how much potential profit a club like this can make on any given night.

The club's president, Vladimir Yevcejchik, was an orphan and has become a large benefactor for city orphanages. The club donates portions of its tips and keeps a donation box for Vilnius Orphanage #1 in the lobby.

By now, there are several other strip establishments in Vilnius - Musmiryte, Indigo Angels, Secret Land and the Old Town Strip Club.

Exclusive tries to differentiate itself by marketing itself as a strip CLUB, per se, but has found a direct competitor in the Old Town Strip Club. Opened last year, Old Town took some inspiration from Exclusive. The cover charge is 80 litas, drinks prices are exorbitant, and there is a desire to market the place also as a bona fide club, with good security, elaborate stages and strip theater.