john4112nola

@nate_sf I do not know Matt, but the obstacle could be the fact that Matt received only 1/3 of the stock issued to purchase Johnsons. His Ex-husband and his business partner were the other 2 owners, with the business partner holding around 45% I believe. They most likely have leverage since they still technically own the liquor license, but the law works in mysterious ways. I hope it works out that both Johnsons survive.

Red Diamond continues to explore additional activities besides male dancers. My last visit a few weeks ago, I was told that they have a "Sauna" license for the upstairs space, so they are allowed to host different "parties" like the one below. The cannot sell alcohol upstairs.

To further muddy the waters about the future of both Johnsons, Pride Holdings does not have a very good track record with the properties they acquired in 2025: Stonewall Australia / Stonewall Bali - Acquired 9/25, back to original owners 1Q26 Lucky's Bar West Palm - Acquired 8/25 - Closed Club one Savannah - Acquired 8/25, back to previous owners AquaPlex Key West & Ft Lauderdale Acquired 8/25, closed/evicted, under litigation for rent due, liquor license held as collateral for $760K loan, , lawsuit for money owed by cleaning company, within last 2 weeks original owners of Key West location have said they will re-open at same address in Feb 27 Lips Chicago - Acquired 9/25, under litigation for $840K owed to previous owner Johnsons Tampa - Acquired 9/25, under litigation for rent due (latest update is they are now paid through August ), questions about liquor license / lease ownership Johnsons Ft Lauderdale, Acquired 9/25. questions about liquor license/lease ownership, according to the Lips Litigation documents, owe 60K+ to Florida dept of revenue (current status unknown), paid utility bill through mid-sept after shutoff notice Cincinnati Ohio - They list a venue there but do not list the name. Google shows it as the Birdcage, although I think that is closed. Cheers up Charles, Austin - entered into agreement to buy 10/25; but deal never closed (do not know details). March 2026, Pride Sued the 2023/24 CEO which resulted in his resignation and return of 300 million shares of common stock. That Stock was then distributed 1 month later to current executives July 2026, CEO and other officer resigned, announced return of 600 million shares August 2026, company announces plan to reduce common stock to 1 Billion shares from 2.3 Billion as of 6/26. However, this includes a stock swap by executives of common stock for preferred stock. (Details not announced yet). Company shows loan amounts of over $1.3 million in its 2Q206 report. It is confusing because they reduced the Lips amount by $300K, but are still being sued by the previous owners for $840K (original purchase price). My predication based on the trends above - Matt ends up taking back Johnsons

@AtlantaDude Florida records do not show "pride holdings" owning any DBA (such as Johnsons) or licenses. In fact, Pride Holdings is a Nevada company, which only recently (April 2026) filed with the Florida secretary of state as a Foreign entity. The name in Florida is Pride Holdings Group Global Inc.

@AtlantaDude Florida restricts the number of retail beverage (4COP/5COP) liquor licenses per county based on population. Each year, they hold a lottery (which is active now), for interested parties to get a new license. This is the only way besides buying an existing license. Broward currently has 4 available. You must submit a form and $100 entry fee. To run a "strip club", you also need to have an Adult Entertainment license. However, be careful. the city of Wilton Manors has restrictions on the distance between new and established businesses, and since it is a small city, you would need to research if an address is available.

The $40 room also includes an all night VIP wrist band, good for the public dances, but If you want a 2nd private room, you pay the $40 (or more for more time).

I was in Tampa Thursday and Friday night, so I decided to check out Johnsons. On Thursday around 11pm , there were about 12 customers and approx 12 dancers. Friday around midnight, there were 12+ dancers and more than 30 customers. As expected for Florida, the majority of dancers were Latino and Black, with 2-3 white dancers. Most dancers were bigger and most likely mid 20s and above. There was 1 twink (Van) on Saturday night. Names I heard called to dance on stage were Roswell, Frank, Luke, Magnus, Ricardo, Matteo, Anthony, D'angelo, Johnny, Enzo, and Van. The dancers seemed very generous for their dollar tips on stage, willingly pulling down the back of their underwear to show their butt, getting a slap or feel, and if I customer tipped in Front, some would pull out their waistband so the customer could get a peak. I saw several dancers grinding on customers at the tables (not sure if they are considered official lap dances). Upstairs was pretty quiet both nights. Upstairs, you had the choice of a $10 VIP entry and paying a dancer $25 per song, or a "package deal" such as 15 minutes for a room that costs $40 to the house, $125 to the dancer. The dancers use a timer that is on the wall. No one checked or interrupted while back there. The pole upstairs was broken, as was the TV that I was told usually displays the dancers on stage downstairs. The bar definitely gives off a "dont really care to invest much money into this business" vibe. As others have noted, there have been issues with the land lord, and the director of operations has commented that they are looking for a new location. A concern which we will see how it plays out in the next 60 days, is the current Liquor license expires 9/30/26 and is still owned by the previous owner Johnson TB LLC.

From Pride Holdings most recent 2Q26 financial report, filed on 8/19/26, "The Company sustained net losses of $1,370,755 and $4,073,380 for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026, respectively, and $1,526,684 and $1,750,921 for the three and six months ended June 30, 2025, respectively, and incurred negative cash flows from operations of $211,160 for the six months ended June 30, 2026. As of June 30, 2026, the Company had an accumulated deficit of $36,556,197, a working capital deficit of $3,438,869 and cash of $78,607. These factors among others raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of 12 months from the issuance date of this report."

@MrDakota Wilton Manors Holdings LLC (owned by Tryst) purchased the Johnsons property along with several other adjacent properties (2320 and 2312) on 4/2/2026. As one member pointed out, it takes many years for plans, approvals, etc. to get approved.

According to the Florida alcohol license site, Johnson's liquor license is owned by Big Johnson Group, LLC (owned by another LLC owned by Matt C.). That LLC was placed in inactive status last September, after the sale to the new owners. You cannot legally use a license that is owned by an inactive business entity. On 7/13/26; an enforcement alert was placed on the license. From what I read, it could take up to 90 days for investigation. The license is also listed as "current, Litigation" and expires in March 2027. I hope a solution is found, I would hate to see another club close.

The main reporter who has been covering this, posted a video where he said "I Talked With Wilton Manors Utilities This Afternoon, And They Said The Bar Is Still In Arrears But They Made A Payment And Are Good Through September Second.

There are 5 lawsuits currently filed against Pride Holdings in Florida that were filed in the last 6 months. Perhaps the previous owners of Johnsons can get ownership back and keep the clubs open ???

Interesting...... Wilton Manors Holdings LLC purchased the Johnsons property along with several other adjacent properties (2320 and 2312) on 4/2/2026.

Pride Holding's letter to Staff dated May 18 did not age well, trying to explain everything was a rumor, bills were paid, no eviction notices, and no site closures. Also interesting they are blaming "bank fraud" as the reason for the missed payments. Another article I saw mentions Barrett purchased a 3.5 million house in Boca in March, then put it in a new LLC. "there is no evidence of wrong doing" the article states. From their latest quarterly report: " The Company has not generated revenue and profits since inception, sustained a net loss of $2,702,624 and $224,237 from continuing operations for the three months ended March 31, 2026 and 2025, respectively, and incurred negative cash flows from operations of $574,027 for the three months ended March 31, 2026. These factors among others raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of 12 months from the issuance date of this report "

With expectations set low, I travelled to Prague for 5 nights, July 15 - 19. It is a very nice city and during the day, I was able to explore some of the more popular attractions such as the Prague Castle area, Lessor Town, Charles Bridge, Old Town, a River boat tour, and some museums. I stayed at the Hilton in Old Town, which was very nice. I did not have much luck with hunqz since I was looking for Twinks. They either did not log in while I was there, read but did not respond to my message, or did not follow through with agreed meetings. I usually try to make same day appointments, but this time I tried contacting guys several days in advance. I think I will go back to the same day approach. I missed out on a few that showed available, because I was waiting on replies from others. Wednesday (day of arrival) - I decided to start at Xbar around 10pm. Took the tram and walked a few blocks. The new location, honestly, sucks. It is away from everything, and you would miss it if there wasn't a giant Blue X in the window. Apparently, they were renovating the basement, so it was only the main floor and a small second floor balcony. The club is tiny - 2 tables, 2 couches, and a stripper pole/platform that takes up 50% of the main room. When I entered, Merow was bartending (you can see him on their Instagram). I was quickly greeted by Darryl Ryder, the porn star from London/Scotland who was working there for a short period(you can also see him on their Instagram). Darryl is very sexy and a very nice guy to talk with. There were 2 customers sitting at the larger table with the owner and Darryl. Eventually, the "crowd" increased to 5 plus me. Occasionally, Darryl would get on the pole, dancing in shorts or underwear. Merow also dances on the pole. Merow said there was another twink dancer, but I did not see him any of the nights I was there. I bought Darryl and Merow some drinks and some shots. The same shot for me cost 110czk, but cost 200czk for the dancers. It says right on the receipt "shot for boy". My beer cost 135czk, but a drink for Darryl cost 400czk. If Darryl had not been there (and he does leave Prague soon); I would not have gone back. Thursday - I went to Up around 8:45pm. Simora was bartending - she was neither rude or welcoming, basically just served me a drink and spent most of the time outside smoking with the 4 customers. The bar inside was very warm. At 9:30 when Down opened, I went there. I stayed for a while to see if anyone interesting would come in and/or work. The beer was only 45czk. There was around 8 customers when I left. I went to Xbar, arriving around 12:45. Darryl said I was the first customer of the night, and they were getting ready to close, but would now stay open. He was pretty drunk and decided to leave 45 minutes after I arrived. Friday - I went to Up around 8:30pm. Simora was bartending again, maybe 5 customers. I watched some of the world cup, before going to Down. Again, maybe 7-8 customers; 2 guys who looked like they worked there came in, sat down for a few, and then left. Friends was advertising a strip show at Midnight, so I left Down around 11pm to check out Friends. I was pleasantly surprised to see 5 cute Twink bartenders. By midnight, the club was packed. The strip show consisted of one muscular dancer doing a lap dance for a girl in a chair on stage. I stayed until 4am, primarily talking to one of the cute bartenders. Saturday - I started at Friends at 9:30 for drinks and conversation with the bartender from Friday. There were maybe 6 customers, majority lesbians, but by 11pm; it started to fill up. I headed over to Xbar at midnight to see Darryl. The owner, 4 customers, and Darryl were at the large table. A few more customers came in; Darryl and Merow both got on the pole a few times. Both eventually showed their ass, but no frontal view. 1 customer was getting private dances, which they do downstairs; so not too much pole action. I only stayed as late as I did because 5 Americans came in after 1am; and I sat and talked with them. I returned to Friends at 2:30 where I ended the night at 5am. Sunday - It is Darryl's night off, so no reason to go to Xbar. I also decided to skip Up & Down, since I had a 6:30am train to catch on Monday. I went to Amerika 32,a bar where my favorite bartender from Friends also works. Had a nice time talking with him, and another Friends bartender who joined us. Overall, it was nice to "Czech" Prague off my Bucket List. I enjoyed meeting Darryl and had a very nice time talking with the Friends bartender. However, unless I see major dancer changes on Xbar's Instagram, or good reports from here; I don't see a reason to return to Prague anytime soon.