House of Lancaster
IndustryAdult entertainment
FounderSpiro and Terry Koumoudouros
Number of locations
2
Area served
Greater Toronto Area
Websitethehouseoflancaster.ca

The House of Lancaster is the name of both a current strip club in Toronto that opened in 1983, and a former strip club in Etobicoke that operated from 1982 to 2017.

Both were opened by Spiro and Terry Koumoudouros.

Ownership

Both clubs were opened by brothers Spiro and Terry Koumoudouros[1] and were ranked the third best strip club by BlogTO in 2012.[2]

Etobicoke club

The House of Lancaster in Etobicoke was a strip club located in a residential area on The Queensway.[3] Most of the club was occupied by female dancers targeting male customers, although the Foxxes Den-branded west wing of the building employed male dancers targeting female customers.[4]

The club opened in 1982, and was initially branded as the Hollywood Tavern.[5]

A male dancer was arrested and charged with sexual assault in 2009.[6][7] The conviction of another male dancer in 2016 was quashed at the appeal court in 2019 granting him a right to a retrial.[8] The Etobicoke club was the scene of three shootings that occurred in 2013, 2014 and 2015.[5] The 2014 shooting happened on December 30, when a man was shot multiple times outside the club.[3] The shooting prompted residents to increase their advocacy against the presence of a strip club in a residential area.[3]

The club was sold in 2017,[9] and demolished by the new owners Parallax real estate company on February 21, 2018.[5]

Toronto club

The Toronto House of Lancaster strip club is located at 1215 Bloor Street[10] in Bloordale, Toronto[1] and club opened in 1983.[1] It closed during start of COVID-19 pandemic, but opened in August 2020 to customers who make phone reservations and wore face masks.[11]

In 2011, the club took hosted a poetry reading event as part of the 100,000 Poets for a Change event, featuring a reading by city councillor Ana Bailão.[12]

The club featured in episode of Degrassi High television series when fictional characters Joey Jeremiah, Snake, and Wheels decided to visit a strip club.[13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Terry Koumoudouros, 67: Strip club owner". thestar.com. 2007-06-01. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
  2. McGinnis, Rick (8 Dec 2012). "The Best Strip Clubs in Toronto". www.blogto.com. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  3. 1 2 3 "House of Lancaster shooting: residents want strip club to move". CBC. 31 Dec 2014.
  4. Appleby, Timothy (2009-06-15). "Man arrested in male strip club attack". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  5. 1 2 3 Reason, Cynthia (26 Feb 2018). "Demolition begins on Etobicoke's infamous House of Lancaster". Scarborough Mirror. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  6. "Male dancer charged with sex assault". thestar.com. 2009-06-16. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  7. "Dancer charged with sex assault at men's strip club". CP24. 2009-06-15. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  8. Perkel, Colin (2019-06-27). "Male stripper who performed lap dance on woman gets new sex assault trial". CTVNews. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  9. "House of Lancaster 'will be closing in the coming months,' Justin Di Ciano says". CBC. 15 May 2017.
  10. O'Neil, Lauren (5 Aug 2020). "Toronto strip clubs are starting to reopen with safety measures in place". www.blogto.com. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  11. Connor, Kevin (6 Aug 2020). "Strippers back, but keeping their masks on". torontosun. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  12. Gurpreet Ghag, The Gentleman's club of poetry readings, The Bloordale Press, October 2011, volume 1, issue 5, p1
  13. Gurpreet Ghag, October's Very Own's paradise, The Bloordale Press, October 2011, volume 1, issue 5, p10
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