Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport is about to get a little sexier. The seventh-busiest airport in the world, with more than 5.7 million passengers passing through it every year (as of 2008), will soon be home to a new gentlemen’s club.
Now, I know what you’re thinking: “airport” strip clubs are usually heinous places. Not far from the airport, they usually attract the lowest of talent and clientele. Well, the new club coming to DFW is different: it’s a Rick’s Cabaret property. Even though it will be on the freeway near DFW, Rick’s will not look like the usual fare near an airport, given the upscale nature of its brand.
“Special use permits have been issued that enable us to operate an adult nightclub at this unique location near the world’s seventh busiest airport,” said Eric Langan, President and CEO of Rick’s Cabaret. “We are awaiting issuance of a mixed beverage permit by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. We plan to open the location on January 15th in time for Super Bowl. All construction is complete and the place looks great.”
This will be the sixth Rick’s Cabaret property in the Dallas area.
Only in New York can you throw back a $1,000 shot and live to write about it.
If you’re looking for a spirit to redefine celebration, you don’t necessarily have to dress up for New York‘s luxury hotels, top-tier restaurants or exclusive bars. After all, this is New York, and luxury can be found in the most obscure places. Instead, direct your driver to W. 33rd Street, between 5th Avenue and Broadway and head to the third floor of gentlemen’s club Rick’s Cabaret – there you’ll find a cognac that’s almost impossible to purchase anywhere else in the United States.
Louis XIII Rare Cask de Remy Martin is not widely available. Of the 786 bottles on the market, a mere 30 were allocated to the U.S. market, which have mostly been claimed by private collectors and consumers, leaving few opportunities for the merely wealthy to enjoy a sip.
Shortly before the armed guards showed up at Rick’s Cabaret with the club’s two bottles, I learned from Louis XIII senior brand manager Remi Brabant, as we sipped a more conventional Remy Martin cognac, that 10 percent of the U.S. allocation – three bottles – is going to Rick’s Cabaret. Two bottles were escorted to the VIP floor at the Manhattan club, after having been carried almost reverently over the red carpet out front, and the third will be served at the company’s Tootsie’s club in Miami.
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When asked why Rick’s Cabaret received the opportunity to purchase such a large share of the U.S. inventory – particularly that available after private buyers were accommodated – he cited Remy Martin’s long relationship with Rick’s Cabaret, not to mention the strength of the gentlemen’s club’s brand and its financial security (Rick’s is publicly traded and has used the recession to go on something of an acquisition spree, with CEO Eric Langan making some smart pickups). Branant told me, “It’s a great pleasure [to work with Rick’s],” adding, “these are fantastic people to work with.” Ultimately, he concluded, “It’s about friendship.”
According to Ken Sistrunk, the New York club’s general manager, a single ounce of this cognac will cost a customer $1,250, with price breaks coming at an ounce and a half ($1,750) and 2 ounces ($2,200). Even at these prices, he said that the bottles won’t last long. Sistrunk expects the first purchase to be made by the middle of August, with both bottles being exhausted by New Year’s Day.
So, who would shell out more than $1,000 for a single ounce of cognac? Sistrunk explained, “There are still a lot of people making a lot of money, and they want to celebrate.”