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If you thought Portland would escape 2020 without losing another civic institution, we've got some bad news: Strip club Dancin' Bare in North Portland is up for sale.
Owner Danny Daniels blames the financial strain from the state-mandated COVID-19 business shutdowns for the closure.
"I'm losing everything I have," says Daniels, whose family bought the bar in 1989 and who took over as owner after his father died in 2009. "I did it as long as I could."
The Kenton neighborhood strip club is primarily known for two things: being guarded over (or perhaps leered at) by the famous Paul Bunyan statue directly across the street, and its cheeky name, which, if you don't get the pun, is helpfully diagrammed on the exterior sign.
In 2014, WW described the vibe thusly: "Mustachioed members of the young broletariat take the MAX here to swill Colt 45 and Old Crow with a wink. They sit at the bar next to your dirty uncle with the IROC Camaro and get a panoramic view of all three stages…while a young lady with a feathered neo-mullet and Pokémon tattoos bares it all just one cut into Lynyrd Skynyrd's greatest hits."
The real estate listing takes a slightly different tack, calling the 30,511-square-foot property at 8440 N Interstate Ave. "an unrivaled opportunity to develop a strategic corner in a popular, walkable neighborhood."
The listing continues: "The property is also adjacent to a MAX Light Rail transit station, making it ideal for"—cue ominous noises—"multifamily development."
Well, if anyone out there wants to save a piece of Old Portland from becoming condos, the property has been valued at $1,067,020.