SAN ANTONIO - A new gentlemen's club is open for business. The Venue is just a little more than a mile away from the San Antonio Riverwalk and in a neighborhood that's been working to clean things up.
You often see people waiting outside Lulu's cafe off I-35. It’s a popular with tourists. We caught up with Caleb and his family who drove in from Houston just to visit Lulu's off I-35.
"I think we're going to try the chicken fried steak and the giant cinnamon bun," he told us.
Caleb was surprised to hear just a few feet away from this San Antonio staple, a hospital, and a neighborhood was a strip club.
"I'd probably be more leery of what time I came out here,” Caleb said. “I think lunch would be more appropriate than dinner."
The Venue claims to be the “Best and only downtown gentlemen's club”. Jim Deegear, a lawyer for the club, says the owners picked this location off Lexington and Main Street because it is so close to downtown San Antonio and tourist money.
"Their market is going to be, to a large degree, downtown,” Deegear explained. “Generally men, sometimes women, will stop by on their way home. Profits could also come from conventions and tourist stuff."
We spoke with president of the Downtown Alliance Organization, Ben Brewer. He said anything south of I-35 is considered part of downtown. And while this new club, which sits just a block north of I-35, misses that boundary - he still has some concerns.
"You do have hospitals and medical offices and things like that where families are, where individuals are taking their children for treatment. And things like that," Brewer pointed out.
We also spoke with the Tobin Hills Neighborhood Association. They've been working to boost businesses in this area and revitalize the neighborhood. They're not happy about this strip club. In fact, they're worried it could reflect poorly on this part of town and cause crime-related problems in the future.
But the club's owner tells New 4 WOAI he hopes to contribute to the revitalization of Tobin Hills. He plans to do that by beefing up security around his club, encouraging tourists to venture outside the immediate downtown area and opening a few more businesses that include a cafe and pizzeria.
