And in New Orleans, where the waters are receding and lights are flickering back to life, that is the gospel.
At 6 p.m. Monday, Déjà Vu, one of four clubs on Bourbon Street operated by Larry Flynt’s Hustler empire, became the first strip club to reopen for business in the French Quarter, where electricity has been restored and many neon signs are now ablaze.
“Our plan is to stay open every night from now on until, I don’t know, 5 a.m., or until someone comes along and tells us to close down,” said Jon Olmstead, the general manager of all four Flynt clubs on Bourbon Street.
Olmstead said that most of the customers in the last few days have been contractors, law enforcement personnel and soldiers.
The club, which lost an estimated $350,000 in revenue since Katrina struck more than three weeks ago, had its roof destroyed but its lower two floors were left intact. Déjà Vu, formerly known as the Crazy Horse, was given approval on Sunday from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to open after a check of its air ducts for mold. And on Monday, the club restored lines to its all-so-valuable ATM machine.
These days, the $10 cover charge has been waived and all drinks, from Corona to Cazadores tequila, have been cut by more than half at $3. Lap dances from one of the four girls are priced with a 90 percent discount for just $1; private “couch dances” cost $10.
More adult clubs on Bourbon Street are set to reopen. One of the street’s biggest strip clubs, Big Daddy’s lounge has used a generator to keep its mechanical pair of showgirl legs swinging. The Unisexxx Club’s neon-lit sign still shouts “World Famous Love Acts by Men and Women.”
Despite the stench of sewage and weeks-old trash, the French Quarter is getting back to life. Overall, the damage to Bourbon Street was minor; some balconies were amazingly unscathed by winds that reached 140 mph.
The adult industry once again is leading the pack. Let the good times roll.