Still looks like a meat market.

Ha! I know what I'm doing for Valentine's Day...

At first I would have said, no Amsterdam must have the first vegan strip club, but then I remembered how much the Dutch love cheese, so they probably had the first lacto-ovo vigitatian strip club 30 years ago.

Ha, they come for the tofu buffet but stay for the bearded clams.

And who has said that by being vegan not has hormones or necessities?

Does that mean they didn't take their penicillin?

The animal rights community seems pretty split on the issue. I think it's messed up that the owner called the dancers meat.

If you're interested, check out my take here: http://vegtalk.blogspot.com/2008/02/vegan-strip-club-opens-in-portland.html.

I'm not vegan. I'm a vagitarian.

being dancers in a strip club, while on the clock, they are meat, objects to be gazed at and desired, not real women with lives, families, and personalities.
it may not have been the nicest way to say it, but he DOES run a strip club named after the devil, after all. lol

Please realize, when you work for somebody else, you're selling your body 8 hours a day.

PS - Living in Vegas, I know several people who are or have been strippers and are vegitarian to one degree or another. It really helps keep the weight off.

Vegan schmegan, he's not community minded. Those naughty nurse flyers were all over town, atop newspaper boxes, pasted over public places. In a town packed with strip clubs I've never seen one promote themselves by totally littering the downtown with cheapo nudie pics. That's not a good way to represent any group trying to change people.

Most notably, there's absolutely no mention of the food on the flyers or news reports. Someone get a menu and report back on whether there is any compelling argument for veganism inside the place, any stats on the massive resources devoted to cattle raising, anything at all raising awareness and making good points. If it's vegan, is the produce local? Organic? Is the food any good? If none of the above are present, he's not doing much to sway people to veganism, and this is pure marketing schtick.

Plus, it makes Portlanders look (more) pretentious. See the comments here:
http://blogtown.portlandmercury.com/2008/01/portlands_first_vegan_strip_cl.php

how would anyone even know it's vegan? it's not written in the advertisement...did i miss that? did treehugger get suckered?

This disgusts me to no end. Animals are now above women? I agree wholeheartedly with a vegetarian lifestyle, but this has NOTHING to do with living a healthy lifestyle. This is just another excuse to exploit women.

"Our meat is on the pole?" WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?

She needs to go up a band size in her bra.

While I sympathize with Janet's viewpoint above, in my opinion it's going a little too far to say that "Animals are now above women?" When the women are literally killed and eaten against their will, then we can say that. Unlike animals in standard businesses, every person in this club is choosing to be there.

This club, however contemptible or not, offers a space where there is only choice, no imposition of will on others. How many polite, progressive, non-vegetarian restaurants--or non-vegetarians?--can say that?

Someone get a menu and report back on whether there is any compelling argument for veganism inside the place, any stats on the massive resources devoted to cattle raising, anything at all raising awareness and making good points. If it's vegan, is the produce local? Organic? Is the food any good? If none of the above are present, he's not doing much to sway people to veganism, and this is pure marketing schtick. - Carissa

I went to this place back when it was Pirate's Tavern. There was lots of literature about veganism in the foyer, that you had to go through to get to the main part of the restaurant. The menu itself included information on a number of reasons why veganism is the responsible choice for the environment, the animals, and one's health. I don't remember exactly how detailed it got, but I do remember thinking it was very informative and compelling. It went on to say 'No murder victims please' - explaining that non-vegans are more than welcome but please don't bring leather/fur/meat with you into the restaurant. In addition, the owner makes sure to discuss veganism as he converses with all his patrons... so he's definitely active in this regard. In all fairness it should be noted that even before the strip club part, this place was never billed as a 'vegan restaurant' in the advertisements - more like a themed (pirate) restaurant, and then the vegan part was mentioned below more as a side note. I'm sure this was to encourage non-vegans to come in and at least give the food a try, instead of just dismissing it as an exclusive vegan-only place and going to a steakhouse instead - obviously you can't

It's been a while since I last went there, because I've moved out of the area since then... so I don't recall anymore whether the food is local, but I do remember that he seemed quite conscientious about his menu so it very well could be. The video says the menu is the same as it was when it was Pirate's Tavern. This being the case, I can vouch for the fact that there is a great selection and yes the food was outstanding. It did seem a bit pricey, though, and I suspect that's why he was still struggling to build a steady clientele. Alcohol is also served there, and while it seems to me that it partially defeats the purpose of eating vegan if you're just going to drink poison along with your healthy meal, I suppose there is probably a demand for this and he's just fulfilling it. Shrug. The menu was mostly organic, including spirits.

While I can't say I'm happy about the change into a strip club (as if Portland really needs yet another one of those), I have to give the guy credit where credit is due and say his motives certainly do seem to be in the right place... he seems quite devoted to the cause of attracting omnivores, educating them, enticing them with delicious vegan food, and encouraging everyone to eat vegan.