The Phoenix-based club is the first in what Thomas said she hopes will eventually grow into a chain bearing her name. Renovations are currently underway at a Reno, Nev.-based location scheduled to open in June.
“You can’t feature dance forever,” Thomas said. “I love this business and want to be around it, but I want to retire some time, and I have to have a plan, a way to make a living when I’m done.”
Thomas is best known for her decade and a half of adult film work but also has gained notoriety more recently as the star of the HBO series “Cathouse,” a documentary-style show that chronicles the goings-on at Nevada’s famed Kit Kat Guest Ranch, where she served as courtesan and official spokesperson.
Thomas left the Kit Kat Ranch several months ago to focus on getting the club set up and hire a stable of dancers.
“We want to get to a point where we have almost exclusively ‘A’-level girls here,” Thomas said. “It’s nice to have a mix, all sorts of girls, because different guys like different types, but we really want to have the girls be upscale.”
Once the Reno club opens, Thomas will split her time between the two locations and also shuttle dancers back and forth to keep the experience fresh for customers.
To attract top talent, Thomas plans to make her clubs attractive to dancers by adding amenities such as Jacuzzis in the dressing rooms and allowing them to keep a larger percentage of their dance income than most clubs. In fact, she has decided not to charge dancers anything to dance at her Phoenix club for the several months of business.
“If you make the girls happy, it shows [in the bottom line],” she said.
As a sideline business, the clubs also will be home to Sunset Thomas’ School of Exotic Dancing, where Thomas will pass on the tools of her trade to the next generation of entertainers.
“It’s not just teaching the girls poll tricks and how to have more energy on stage and get the crowd into the show,” Thomas said, “it’s [also] about being smart with their money, putting something away and making a life for themselves so they don’t have to dance forever. Who better to teach them than someone’s who’s been through it?”
Thomas added that she may even expand the school to include a fitness class for women who aren’t interested in dancing professionally but just want a fun way to stay in shape.
