Monday, Aug 29, 2011    Text size: 

CHICAGO — Playboy Enterprises Inc. has signed a licensing deal for a new Chicago Playboy Club.

The new digs will reportedly open on the Near North Side close to where the original iconic club opened its doors 51 years ago.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the licensee, Boston-based Tremont Reality Capital LLC, is looking at erecting the new bunny hutch in a mansion at 1150 N. Dearborn St., the current home of the Il Mulino restaurant.

Playboy CEO Scott Flanders confirmed a deal with a partner who is “in the final stages of selecting a site,” with an expected opening by first quarter of next year.

Flanders however would not confirm the club’s location.

The resurrected Chicago club will not have the added attractions of a hotel or casino like the other recently licensed operations in Las Vegas, London, Macau, and Cancun, Mexico — a drawback that may force it to rely on nostalgia for its success.

But regardless of the perceived shortcomings, Playboy hopes the deal will help fuel its licensing business — the core of its new corporate strategy.