Chix on Dix / Power Strip - Bar Rescue Update - Open or Closed?

In this Bar Rescue episode, Jon Taffer visits Chix on Dix in Detroit, Michigan.

Chix on Dix is owned by Richard Skinner who bought the bar in 2005.

The topless club is located on Dix avenue which lent its name to the club.

It was the only topless bar in the area so business was successful for the first year making $50,000 a month.

With this he was confident to focus on his other businesses but the place got neglected.

He brought in Darren Lee a bar business consultant with thirty years experience in the industry to manage the place.

He in turn brought in Chuck Whisnant to manage and recruit dancers but there is a high turnover rate.

Darren rebranded the bar to ‘Industrial Strip’ to bring in new business.

Richard did not like it and put him on a very lean budget which Darren is finding it hard to work with.

Management feuds led to customers and talent leaving the bar and there is now an unruly environment.

They are $200,000 in debt and months from closing but Richard cannot figure it out.

Jon recons the bar with expert mixologist Lisamarie Joyce, and Renae Lemmens, an expert entertainment director in the Strip Club Industry.

They see the exterior and the two names are visible so looks like two different bars and both names are offensive.

They see Richard is not at the bar, entertainers are falling asleep at the bar and drinking on the job and the manager is in the kitchen cooking.

Jon has a group of eight men for a bachelor’s night come in to spy on the service.

They come in and order cocktails but the bartender is restricted by some guards on the bottles that slow down her work.

The entertainers are disinterested in the customers.

They have poor interaction with the men, no eye contact, no smiles and they are drinking on the job.

Darren sees all this and does nothing.

Jon comes in to meet with Darren and is brutally honest with him with what is wrong with the bar.

Darren does not treat the dancers well and Chuck does not know how to manage them properly.

Chuck is so resistant to all he hears he pushes a rack of glasses on the floor and walks out.

Darren is left to clean up the mess with the bartenders.

The next day, Richard is present when Jon comes in and they reveal they have worked together successfully before.

Darren wants to give Chuck another chance as he offered to pay for the damages.

Jon confronts the dancers with everything they did wrong.

He can see that the owners have enabled their bad behaviours while not training them.

Meshelle is the only one complimented because she had great interaction with customers while bartending.

Darren complains of being over stretched as he is not given enough to hire a cook and he is forced to do it.

Darren and Richard both outline the confusion on the names and it translates to how they see the business should be run.

Jon introduces the experts and brings in one more, expert chef Vic Vegas for the food programme.

Jon tries hard to persuade Darren not to let Chuck back to the bar.

Ranae gives the dancers feedback and trains them on engaging with customers, being sexy and enticing while getting customers to buy dances.

Lisamarie trains the bartenders on proper bartender techniques and making drinks from scratch without liquor control.

Vic Vegas is there to see if the food programme is necessary and they will monitor Darren cooking, managing the bar and the entertainers.

The stress test starts and the bar is dull and drinks come out slow.

The kitchen serves food but they do not care what state the food is in and Richard runs the food.

The dancers need lots of direction and customers say they are mediocre.

Food orders are placed but the printer is bad so orders are missed and no food goes out for more than ten minutes.

Darren is required in several places and slow in making the food.

He makes the error of taking the only bartender left at the bar to serve food.

Sweetie the oldest dancer is problematic.

She is not smiling or engaging, pulling the room down and when confronted by Renae she walks out.

Richard and Darren get into a fight about the help that is needed.

The stress test is shut down.

The next day Jon meets with the staff and Darren is told how he operates the bar is not working.

Chuck and Sweetie are both gone and Jon is confident they can finally get things in order.

Darren asks Richard for full backing and free reign to make it work.

Richard gives him sixty days to see if it will work.

Renae gets back into training the girls to increase eye contact and on engaging with customers.

Lisamarie trains the bartenders on making glow-in-the-dark drinks with a gin and tonic base.

There is also a dancers drink that looks similar but with no alcohol so they do not get drunk.

The bar is renovated overnight and they are gathered at night to reveal the new bar.

The bar has been renamed to Power Strip.

The outside is cleaned up with a black background and a yellow arrow that stands out.

Inside has been updated with dark furnishes and Blue glow backlights and stage lights.

The poles are from Platinum Stages, they control the lights and fog from an app.

The bar has two stations, a six draft beer system, three 2touch POS systems and new entertainers from Jon.

On relaunch, the customers are let in and the bartenders are confident and engaging with them.

The dancers are more approachable and Renae is impressed with them.

Darren is managing and stopping customers from touching the dancers.

What Happened Next at Chix on Dix / Power Strip?

Six weeks later, sales have declined but Darren has full control of the bar so he is optimistic he can turn it around.

He brought Chuck and Sweetie back to the bar.

They kept the name Power Strip.

Chix on Dix / Power Strip closed in June 2016.

It was listed for sale for $1 million before dropping to $500,000.

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This post was last updated in February 2022.