Clermont Lounge: a strip club meets a boutique hotel in Atlanta

Atlanta (CNN) – A mixed striptease club and a boutique hotel. It may sound strange, but by quickly transforming Atlanta, this unusual relationship seems to work.

"It's a different club than other clubs, and as, it actually allows women aged 25 to 30 to work there.I am 62 years old next month.Thank you, Jesus." I did, "said Blondie, who has dropped and dropped punt at the top of his bar since 1978.

Blondie, born Anita Rae Strange, is the most famous stripper in Atlanta – a city known for its adult entertainment. Crushing Budweiser and tin cans of PBR with her bads is a trademark. She also writes poetry.

Blondie and the brewery are the kind of juxtaposition more and more prevalent in Atlanta, and some locals fear that the likes of champagne will tarnish the character of Atlanta.

"This girl does not like champagne, do not like wine either, I like beer and shots," says Blondie.

Despite mixed feelings, this trendy boutique hotel has certainly made a splash and has given energy back to a building that has been closed for nearly a decade, with the exception of the Striptease Club. in the basement.

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The building began under the name of Bonaventure Arms Apartments in 1924 and became the Clermont long-stay hotel in 1939.

Several night clubs occupied the basement before the birth of the Clermont Lounge in 1965. In the 70s and 80s, the building and the hallway of Ponce de Leon Avenue were frequented by drug addicts and prostitutes.

In 2009, the hotel was closed by the health service. But the show continued, attracting all ages and backgrounds.

Jimmy Mahaffey, who is in his fifties, recently visited the rooftop bar and basement of the new hotel on Saturday night with his girlfriend, who visited the striptease club in the 90s before she left. to settle in the suburbs of Atlanta.

Mahaffey, who had never been to the living room before, warmed up immediately.

"It looked like I had repaired the bar and it was covered with tape, tape, my favorite repair tool," Mahaffey said.

"When I saw this bar stuck, I told myself that there were survivors here."

True. Blondie is not the oldest dancer of Clermont. Porsha is 70 years old. Another dancer, Cbady, ​​54, who specializes in lighting her bads, has ties to the salon dating from the 80s.

Dancers choose their own songs in the jukebox. The smoke permeates everything, infiltrating into the hair and clothes. Everyone, except the bald smoker, will probably want a late-night shower.

The most remarkable development of the last two decades, in decorative terms, is the recent renovation of the toilets, which was previously a challenge for sensitive public institutions.

People like this place.

Its atmosphere, coupled with a strict policy of non-cameras, attracts many celebrities. Anthony Bourdain was a fan. Robert De Niro, Woody Harrelson, Jennifer Lawrence and Jon Hamm were all present.

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The Clermont salon has a new friend at the Clermont hotel.

The hotel, which opened in June 2018 after a $ 30 million restructuring, features a rooftop bar with breathtaking views of the skyline, d & # 39; a cafe and a sensual badtail bar in the lobby, as well as the Franco-American Tiny Lou & # 39; s brewery.

Tiny Lou's name owes its name to a dancer who produced it in a club located in the basement, before the Clermont show.

The hotel's design, run by New York-based Reunion Goods & Services, is "a kind of rock'n'roll in your grandmother's living room," says Alan Rae, director General of the hotel Clermont.

Think of velvet, rattan, wicker and flowers with lots of daring wallpaper. It has 94 rooms, including several suites and a set of four-bed bunk rooms, designed for friends traveling together.

The developer, Oliver Hospitality, purchased the building in 2013 and there was never any talk of closing the show.

"We love hotels that have personality, and that really has what I've always called the street credo, be the authentic Atlanta and have the salon in it," said Philip Welker, director from Oliver Hospitality.

Kathi Martin, co-owner of the show, is pleased with the change. She was not sure who would buy the hotel to flap or whether the buyers would keep the club.

"They love us, we love them," says Martin, who started as a bartender at the show 40 years ago.

"They bought it and fought to keep us because no one wanted to fund it with an adult entertainment club in the basement," Martin said.

Keeping the living room in place costs more than a million dollars, Welker estimates. But it's something that can not be duplicated anywhere else, and it's a bonus.

The show continues to rent premises in the building and businesses are owned and operated independently.

During the weekend of the Super Bowl, the hotel is closed to the public for a multitude of events such as rooftop DJs hosted by Jermaine Dupri and DJ Mars and a night of celebrity games presented by rapper T.I.

However, the show will be open later than usual and for the first time on a Sunday.

Changing landscape

The redevelopment of Atlanta gives rise to mixed feelings.

Chris Sinon and Arielle Valdez, a couple of about 20 years old, were having a drink on the roof of the Clermont Hotel on a Saturday night. They are fans of the Clermont Lounge and feel a little torn by the transformation of the building.

For Valdez, it's nice to see it revitalized, but it's also a great example of what's happening in the Poncey-Highland hotel district, and throughout the city, where high-end development is driving up housing prices.

The roof – a delight to instagrammer with neon signs and a view of the horizon line – is a bit "candle," said Valdez, compared to the no-frills living room without photos. Yet, it was the second visit of the couple on the roof.

Originally from Atlanta, Sean Vinson, 45, works part-time in the security sector at the Clermont show. In the early 2000s, he worked there full time and lived on the floor of the hotel.

"I do not like it," says Vinson about the new hotel. "I mean it's way better than it used to be, but in some ways, not too much, you know?" the native of Atlanta said.

"You win something, but you lose some elements of the neighborhood.How it was.Before, yes, there were people who were dangerous at the time, but it was not so tense neither, "says Vinson.

Or so expensive. "Previously, it was $ 200 a week, and now it's $ 200 a night."

Down the street, Ponce City Market is another urban metamorphosis. The converted Sears, Roebuck & Co. warehouse, dating back to 1920, houses a dining hall lined with casual restaurants run by chefs, luxury boutiques, residences and offices.

It is located on the Atlanta BeltLine, a 22 km trail that, once completed, will connect 45 neighborhoods.

"I mean the neighborhood has changed," says Blondie. "All condos on the other side of the street, the neighborhood changing up and down."

Yet the clermont remains.

"This place does not change," says Blondie. "And I do not change … After 40 years, I'm very humble, God is sure of that."

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