Clermont Lounge

General Manager of ED’s “2024 Small Club of the Year South” Award winner, Rebecca Brown, discusses Clermont Lounge’s dive bar aesthetic, legendary dancers, celebrity customers and female leadership.

(NOTE: This story appears in the January 2025 issue of ED Magazine.)

Tucked away in the basement of the Clermont Motor Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia is a dive bar with a history that dates back 100 years. What started out as a venue for burlesque dinner shows evolved into an adult nightclub and ultimately became the Clermont Lounge in 1965. As the city’s oldest strip club, people travel from all over to experience its unique charm and see their legendary entertainers take the stage.

The bar’s long-standing “No cameras” rule has given it an air of mystery, leaving many in the dark about what the notorious club looks like. Remaining largely unchanged since opening day, for most, walking through the double doors of the Clermont Lounge feels like stepping back in time.

Upon entering the lounge, guests are comforted by the warm glow of the club’s red lighting. To the right is a small stage overlooking a horseshoe-shaped bar made of black duct tape. To the left is a dance floor that’s often packed on Friday and Saturday nights when the Clermont Lounge transforms into a dance club. Signs on the walls are handpainted in thick bubbly lettering and mirrors cover the low ceiling, adding to its retro aesthetic.

“We always describe it as a dive bar that happens to have boobies,” chuckles Clermont Lounge’s General Manager Rebecca Brown. “I think the vibe in the Clermont is much more dive bar than strip club.”

While some of the club’s patrons are there to enjoy the laid-back vibe and affordable PBRs, the entertainers are without a doubt the biggest draw.

“I don’t know of any other club in Atlanta that has a 60-year-old woman who lights her nipples on fire.”

— Rebecca Brown

The Clermont sets itself apart

Unlike any other adult nightclub in the area, the Clermont Lounge employs a broad range of entertainers, the most sought-after being over 50 years old.

“I don’t know of any other club in Atlanta that has a 60-year-old woman who lights her nipples on fire,” says Rebecca. “She literally attaches sparklers to her nipples and lights them on fire, and that’s just the day shift.”

Known for featuring entertainers of all shapes, sizes and ages, the Clermont Lounge is different in every way imaginable.

Rebecca Brown
Rebecca Brown

“We also have a 65-year-old woman who crushes beer cans with her breasts,” she adds. “So I know that sets us apart. But I think more than that is the way this club has been run for the last 60 years. We’re known now for having older dancers, but that’s not who we set out to be.”

Mac, the Clermont Lounge’s original owner, created a safe and warm environment for entertainers, treating his employees like family. When he passed away, he willed the club to its current owners, Kathi Martin and Rebecca’s mother Tracey Brown, who have worked there since the ‘70s. His only condition was that they not change anything.

“There’s never been that machismo environment in the Clermont,” Rebecca explains. “We don’t have VIP rooms. The house has never taken a cut. Everything they make is theirs, and it’s always been that way.”

Rebecca credits the club’s sense of community Mac cultivated (and Tracey and Kathi continue to uphold) for being able to retain their staff for decades at a time.

“I’ve never had that until I came to the Clermont,” Rebecca explains, “and I know hearing from a lot of our dancers who have danced in other clubs that they’ve never had that either. We’ve always prioritized female leadership. Kathi was the nighttime manager and Tracey the daytime manager for over 20 years before becoming the owners. I think that, to them, it’s just another day. It’s not a big deal. But to some of the younger employees, it’s a very big deal to work for these strong females in an adult entertainment club.”

Despite Atlanta being fully nude, the Clermont Lounge doesn’t require dancers to strip down if they don’t want to.

“It’s whatever our girls are comfortable with,” she adds. “There’s no quota, so if our girls want to sit and have a conversation with you, they can without that monkey on their back. There are so many negative connotations with adult entertainment, and being female-owned, we have worked really hard to try to flip the script on that and paint a different picture and show that these women are human beings, and they’re here because they love their bodies. They want to celebrate it.”

With so many resilient women both on and off the stage, it’s no surprise that the Clermont Lounge attracts more bachelorette parties than bachelor parties. In fact, their largest customer base is straight women who want to see someone dance who looks like them.

The legends of Clermont

When it comes to the performers who always drew a crowd at the Clermont Lounge, three women immediately came to Rebecca’s mind: Blondie Strange, Paula and Porsche. As one of the club’s most recognized faces, Blondie has been featured in an episode of “The Layover with Anthony Bourdain” and a documentary titled “AKA Blondie.”

“She’s still here three or four nights a week with the most fabulous Tina Turner legs you’ve ever seen in your life,” mentions Rebecca. “She’s a poet. So I think, again, part of the charm of the Clermont is that, yes, this woman is naked on stage doing ballet moves and splits and crushing beer cans with her breasts, but if you ask for a beer can crush during a table dance, she also gives you a piece of her handwritten poetry sealed in a zip lock bag with the crushed can like a little souvenir.”

Paula, who is technically retired, started dancing at the Clermont Lounge in 1969.

“She would get on stage and just scream, ‘This is show business. Show me your money, and I’ll show you my business!’ And the entire building would just erupt in cheers and laughter,” Rebecca recalls referring to Paula as her aunt.

Despite having retired years ago, Tracey was able to convince her to temporarily come back in 2018 after customers were asking for her. She retired again this past year, but it’s clear the doors at the Clermont are always open for a comeback.

The third legendary dancer Rebecca mentions is Porsche, who passed away in February of 2023.

“She was, I would say, our most beloved by the crowd,” Rebecca shares. “She danced up into her 70s and was known for dressing like Little Bo Peep. People still come in and ask for Little Bo Peep. She was one of the warmest, kindest people. We miss her dearly.”

“Mick Jagger shouted us out at his concert in Atlanta telling everyone he came in and saw Blondie crush beer cans with her boobs.”

— Rebecca Brown

‘No cameras’ rule attracts celebrities

In addition to having older dancers, the Clermont Lounge is also known for attracting many celebrities who likely find the club’s “No cameras” rule appealing. However, it’s not always easy to enforce.

“Fifteen years ago, the club had a very different environment,” Rebecca recalls. “We literally used to have signs that read, ‘If you pull out a phone or camera, it’s ours. We will take it from you. You will not get it back.’ Obviously, in 2024 that does not fly.”

Today, they employ a security team to ensure no one is taking photos or videos. While the rule is in place to protect the privacy of dancers, it’s also there to protect the privacy of guests.

“We don’t want anyone who’s not in the club to see who is in the club,” Rebecca explains. “Everyone thinks it’s just for the dancers, but it’s for it’s for everybody, and it’s very hard to enforce.”

The Clermont’s other GM & Head of Security, Dee Bronner, accepts the ED Award on their behalf
The Clermont’s other GM & Head of Security, Dee Bronner, accepts the ED Award on their behalf

Despite this, they’ve done a pretty good job keeping photos of the Clermont Lounge off the internet, and their “No cameras” rule has gone on to inspire club merch and a coffee table book. Adding further to their fame, celebrities love to talk about their experiences inside the club.

“Jack Black, Jean Smart and Lady Gaga have all gone on talk shows and talked about us, which just blew our minds,” she shares. “Mick Jagger shouted us out at his concert in Atlanta telling everyone he came in and saw Blondie crush beer cans with her boobs. That really sets the stage for who we are and kind of getting the word out. But I think that celebrities love us because we don’t allow cameras, it’s very laid back and they can come in and be themselves.”

All in the family

Rebecca’s connection to the Clermont Lounge began long before she became an employee as her mother Tracey started working at the club in the late ‘70s, a decision that would ultimately shape both of their lives. However, since she was raising her daughters in a small town south of Atlanta, Tracey chose to keep her job at the Clermont Lounge private, fearing that the stigma surrounding adult entertainment in the ‘80s and ‘90s might impact their social lives. It wasn’t until they were in their late teens that Rebecca and her sister found out the truth.

“We just thought it was the coolest thing ever,” Rebecca says, recalling the moment she and her sister Cortney learned where their mom worked. “My mom never danced. She was a waitress, then a bartender and then the daytime manager. So I never had to really have that conversation with her, because growing up, some of the dancers were part of my family. Knowing what they did for work, it just didn’t faze me.”

While Kathi and Tracey have always planned to keep the Clermont Lounge in their families, Rebecca initially had other career ambitions. She was a firefighter/EMT for the city of Atlanta and eventually wound up working in a corporate environment for almost 10 years. After realizing that wasn’t for her, Rebecca called her mom to see if there was a job opening available for her at the club.

“I started checking IDs and collecting the cover charge with Dee,” Rebecca shares, talking about the Clermont’s other General Manager and Head of Security, DeShawnte “Dee” Bronner. “He was the first one to really show me the ropes. I later made my way to waitressing and bar-backed for a while. I’ve been with the club for going on eight years now. It’s been really cool, as her daughter, to see what she’s done my whole life, which I never really got the opportunity to see and hear growing up. It’s an absolute joy to get to come in and be part of the Clermont family.”

For more information, visit www.clermontlounge.net.

 

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