Pittsburgh's Blush Gentlemen's Club Sells for $15 Million

PITTSBURGH — Blush Gentlemen's Club, one of Pittsburgh’s oldest and most popular strip clubs, was recently sold for $15 million.

The parent company of Rick’s Cabaret was the buyer for Blush, which has recently hosted some of the top adult names in the biz for feature dance presentations, including Nikki Benz, Courtney Cummz, Jada Stevens, Kenna James and Kendra Sunderland.

The $15 million deal for Blush, announced today, includes $10 million for the club’s intellectual property assets and $5 million for related real estate. The sale is expected to close before Oct. 31.

Blush is the only gentlemen's club in downtown Pittsburgh. It has been in business close to 50 years with grandfathered use dating back to the 1930s.

The 16,000-square-foot club has a full liquor license, serves food, and is open until 2 a.m. Sunday through Thursday nights and 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.

Located in downtown Pittsburgh's Cultural District, Blush is an easy walk from the convention center, stadiums, hotels and restaurants.

"Blush fits perfectly in line with our goal of acquiring profitable No. 1 locations with a long history of cash flow," said Eric Langan, president and CEO of RCI Hospitality Holdings Inc.

"Pittsburgh is a new top 20 metropolitan market for us. It is a major business and financial center and convention city,” Langan said. “With the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pirates and Penguins, it is also one of the greatest sports markets in the country. We look forward to Blush's long-running management team joining our organization."

RCI through its subsidiaries operates 40 clubs in New York, Miami, Charlotte, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Houston, Minneapolis, St. Louis and other markets under brand names such as Rick's Cabaret, XTC, Club Onyx, Vivid Cabaret, Jaguars, Tootsie's Cabaret and Scarlett's Cabaret.

It also operates sports bars and restaurants under the brand name Bombshells Restaurant & Bar.

Typically, sales figures for adult entertainment clubs go undisclosed. Rick's Cabaret's parent company, however, trades on the Nasdaq as a public company and is required to disclose transactions to shareholders.