Reopenings - Stag PDX, Portland, OR

[+ pdxleo]

After checking out the changes at Silverado, Portland's older gay strip club, I figured it would be wise to scope out the doings at Stag PDX, the newer club. After 5 years in business, but in a much smaller premises, I was curious about the changes they had undergone in order to reopen.

 

First, of course, they are under the 10pm curfew which all liquor establishments are following, for the rest of the year probably. So, their dancers are performing 6 to 10 pm. Club entry requires a temperature test with a scanner, a spritz of hand sanitizer, and acceptance of a written card explaining the COVID regulations being followed in the club. No cover on a Wednesday night- $5 on Friday and Saturday. Inside the club, social distancing is enforced with staggered seating for about 25 patrons. The service bar is roped off and you must stand away from the bar after getting your drink order- no loitering at the bar, they are looking for you to get your drink, and then take a seat in the stage area. They do provide four seating areas at the stage rail, right where the dancers are performing, as well as seven or eight seating groups along the wall and in front of the lap dance booths. With Wednesday being amateur night, there were a couple of groups there to cheer on their friends having their first onstage experience.

 

With only having been reopened for a couple of weeks, some of the old time regular dancers were not yet returned. All the faces were new to me- at least what you can see of their faces. All dancers and staff were masked up, patrons must have masks on while moving about the club, OK to unmask when seated at a table. People here are used to the mask practice, and I saw no resistance to the policy from any patron. Favorite dancer for me was Venus, a slim, buzz cut flexible honey. Athletic dance with a fine butt, took my breath away just a wee bit. Next was Andreas, a fair skinned, dark haired European, (couldn't place the accent, Portuguese or Malta, maybe?) thickly muscled and active. My favorite amateur was King, a stocky Blond rugby type- a bit chunky but not afraid to work the pole and jump around.

 

One of the things I've always appreciated about Stag is their open acceptance concerning persons in transition, both FTM and MTF. One of the amateurs that night was Lily, a transitioning MTF person performing, even with their breasts being bandaged from a recent medical procedure. It's a brave choice to to that work while "under construction", and that is appreciated. Unfortunately, what I didn't appreciate was the lack of full nudity from any of the 12 dancers working. It may he been because it was amateur night, or the fact of a small house crowd, but when I go to a strip club, the "strip" part is important.

 

I did take two dancers to the lap dance booths- $20 plus tip for 5 mins, and no nudity but both guys were appreciate and active, almost to a fault. Both dancer and patron have to be masked, and hand sanitized after you leave the booth.

 

All in all, I'm glad I went, tho disappointed with the lack of nudity. We'll have to see if that is an anomaly due to the current circumstance, of a change in club philosophy in general. Stay tuned....

[Chidude]

Silverado and Stag are both still open, right?

[+ pdxleo]

Yup, so far so good!

[Joeyjose]

I miss PDX strip clubs. But, still not feel comfortable to go to any indoor bar yet.

[Chidude]

Any recent updates on Silverado and Stag in Portland? I’ve never been but may be in Portland this summer.

[+ pdxleo]

Stag is set for a "soft" reopening this Friday, May 14th. Oregon's governor, "Shut-Down" Katie Brown, has loosened the screws on restaurants and bars, allowing currently a 25% capacity, so Stag will be limited to 30 patrons for now. New owners and management has sunk a ton of effort into an updated remodel, redoing the stage and seating areas. The new manager, Ali, (known as Aladdin in his previous stripper life), tells me he has 25 performers lined up and ready to go opening night- and has altered the focus a bit. A more main-stream, less "alt-emo" type of dancer is the new focus, I'm curious how that will be experienced. While the interior work is ongoing, the club will be closed on Mondays until more capacity is allowed later on this summer. so, six nights a week, and new staffing, might need a break-in period, but we will see.

 

Silverado, having a kitchen and ground-floor dining area open to the outside, had customers the few times that I've driven past. While the stripper stage in the basement has meant that I'm not yet comfortable attending, I'll have to check the activities soon, once the vaccinations pick up.

[+ WmClarke]

Thanks for the update. I’ll be there in July—hope to check out these clubs.

[Prime38]

@pdxleo Have you been able to attend Stag since the "soft" reopening on 5/14? Want to come up to Portland soon before the June 30th opening and wanted to know if it still offers nudity from the dancers? Or did it change with the new owners and the current Covid restrictions?

[+ pdxleo]

I stopped  in on Sunday, on my way back from Tacoma, to catch up with Ali, the new manager. It was early, and not all the talent had come in yet, so my expectations were set low. The guys ranged from twinky to a bit paunchy, but the vibe was fun nevertheless. A couple of them were old-timers who recognized me from "ye olden days"- with proof of vax, you don't have to mask up anymore, easier to chat them up. Two of the guys stripped all the way, two did not. I was there early- 6 o'clock-ish- so I suspect the action would heat up later in the shift. If you do come to town, PM me and we can make a night of it! 

 

[Prime38]

23 hours ago, pdxleo said:

I stopped  in on Sunday, on my way back from Tacoma, to catch up with Ali, the new manager. It was early, and not all the talent had come in yet, so my expectations were set low. The guys ranged from twinky to a bit paunchy, but the vibe was fun nevertheless. A couple of them were old-timers who recognized me from "ye olden days"- with proof of vax, you don't have to mask up anymore, easier to chat them up. Two of the guys stripped all the way, two did not. I was there early- 6 o'clock-ish- so I suspect the action would heat up later in the shift. If you do come to town, PM me and we can make a night of it! 

 

Amazing, thank you for this information! Will definitely reach out when I’m in town.

[+ pdxleo]

Sunday evening, I made the decision, as a matter of equal time, that I needed to stop into Silverado, Portland's "senior" male strip club. Comparing the old dog, to the young pups around the corner at Stag, seems the right thing to do now that both are open. First off, the check of vax records gets you a wristband allowing mask-free entrance to the club. Partial vax or none at all means you have to wear a mask at all times except drinking/eating, and those persons are reminded by staff over the PA every few minutes. A little irritating, but that's the current rules here. Most of the ground floor tables are blocked off, and the video poker and lottery games are still plexiglassed off. The pool table and bar are open.

Downstairs, the stage room is listed as capacity of 36, and was full at 8pm- no staff monitoring that max capacity, and many more persons in that area could be problematic. Only one bartender in the two-station bar, but not much of a line, and Trevor recognized me and had a But Light pulled as I walked up- is that a good thing or a bad thing, that the strip club bartender recognizes you and has your drink already out for you, even after a year of pandemic? Color me embarrassed just a bit.

About 12 dancers- a mix of ethnicities, a few frat-bro types, and a couple of twinks. I'd say 2/3rds were returning vets, some longtimers and some fresh guys. Almost all stripped down to nude for at least part of their set- it sorta sent me back in time to 2019. The VIP stalls were busy, and some of the dancers had customers lined up for that. Being a Sunday night, the MC was a drag queen ( a longtime tradition on Sunday), and there was about 5-6 ladies in the crowd. So, just about back to normal - but the 11pm closing time is still in place until 70% statewide vax gets rid of that. So, the nights are condensed for now- dancers 7 - 11 pm, instead of the old two-shift Sunday shows. They are open every night, tho- baby steps, I guess. It was cool to catch up with the old hands, and easier to chat without being masked. Glad I stopped in, if only to check it out and say hey to the veteran dancers. 

[Prime38]

Cool, thanks for the intel. Silverado is definitely on my list with Stag to visit. Hope you had a good time

[+ jeezopete]

On 6/1/2021 at 12:47 AM, pdxleo said:

and Trevor recognized me and had a But Light pulled as I walked up- is that a good thing or a bad thing, that the strip club bartender recognizes you and has your drink already out for you, even after a year of pandemic? Color me embarrassed just a bit.

LOL, that reminded me of the time I was walking into a club after midnight as a couple of customers were walking out. One looked at me and said, "Hey, Disaronno sour! How are you?" I recognized him as a former bartender of another club that had closed a year or two prior.

[ozmaster]

thinking of visiting portland later this summer. any updates on stag and silverado?

thanks in advance! 🥰

[Chidude]

Bump.  Any recent word on Stag/Silverado given the Delta variant?

[+ pdxleo]

With a current Proud Boys vs. antifa riot predicted for this weekend, I'll be avoiding downtown this weekend, but will be visiting both clubs in the next few days, to see how both are reacting to the resumption of masking mandates by the State this month.

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

16 hours ago, pdxleo said:

With a current Proud Boys vs. antifa riot predicted for this weekend, I'll be avoiding downtown this weekend, but will be visiting both clubs in the next few days, to see how both are reacting to the resumption of masking mandates by the State this month.

Same here.  I usually enjoy spending a few weeks every September in Portland, with most nights at Silverado.  But I skipped last year and will be skipping again this year do to violent protests.

[+ pdxleo]

Truth, it's gonna be a long, silly/stupid winter here, not looking forward to the craziness.  BTW it was a pleasure meeting you at Canyon Club in April, it's time for me to start planning for next April!

[+ pdxleo]

Time to check in with the local clubs and their approach to the resumption of the mask mandates- Oregon now has masking in any indoor public place, probably until year-end. However, the social distancing seems to have become less important, neither club this week emphasized anything more than masks. On Wednesday, Stag was a little quiet, tho I was there kinda early. Both clubs have resumed per-pandemic schedules, with Stag being 9:30 to 2AM nightly except Mondays, and Silverado having dancers 10:00 to 2AM daily, but no Sunday matinee yet. Talking with Stag's manager Ali (Aladdin), they've decided to add armed security at the door, to keep some of the "Portland Crazy" at bay over the fall/winter. Expansion into the old "Window Bar" space next door is on hiatus until the health crisis is settled. Cover charge on Friday and Saturday (Silverado has this also). Masks are worn except when actively drinking or eating, and you'll be reminded to follow this mandate- more subtly at Stag, but the emcee at Silverado will rag on you over the mic about it, and call you out by description-" Hey, black tee and jorts, pull up yet effin mask!"

The mix of dancers seems to have settled into the pre-CO pattern, with the guys at Stag being younger and more emo/thin, and the bigger guys at Silverado. The most interesting guy at Stag this night was River, a 22-year old blond with shaggy long hair (surfer-style) and amazing glutes. Even Ali got on stage for a couple sets, to keep his "skin" in the game, so to speak. About 6 guys on a  midweek night, but some of the old regulars have moved on unfortunately. Que sera sera. Ali tells me that he's really trying to hire gay dancers, to move to a more sophisticated experience- time will tell how it works out. 

Thursday at Silverado was a different theme altogether- a fairly crowded downstairs bar and stage, a mixed crowd of young and old, kinda felt like maybe the old ways might be able to make a comeback. Unfortunately, many of the younger patrons couldn't bring themselves to mask up, and the incessant nagging by the staff to do so cast a downer vibe, IMHO.  About 8 dancers in the rotation, most getting full nude at some point in their set. One of the guys would constantly smack his sizeable dick against his tipping bucket, knocking it over and spreading the growing contents of dollar bills all over the stage- first time I've ever seen that schtick! The guys are a mix of big and small, Covid bellies are starting to get worked off, lots of abs on display YAY! I'm not quite ready for lap dances yet, but there was a lot of others partaking that night. 

All in all, a pleasant couple of evenings catching up with friends an gossiping about oldtimers and meeting new dancers. Maybe there is hope for these places after all!