Penthouse nightclub owner Danny Filippone plans to close his busy strip club for two to three weeks after fire destroyed a back room on the second floor, he told Business in Vancouver November 30.
“Business is great,” he said. “That’s the problem. We’ve just come across one of our better years.”
The competing Cecil Nightclub closed nearly 18 months ago, leaving the Penthouse, No. 5 Orange and Brandi's Exotic Show Lounge as the only remaining strip clubs in downtown Vancouver.
Filippone estimated that years ago there were nearly 35 such clubs in the downtown core. The fire struck in the wee hours of November 30 and was caught fast, he said.
Filippone’s grandfather, Guiseppe, bought an empty Seymour Street lot and built the Penthouse in 1938. The site hosted several family-run businesses such as a taxi service. It morphed into a restaurant in 1947 and then became a nightclub.
Filipponi said all the classic photos inside the club were unharmed by the fire.
Glen Korstrom
@GlenKorstrom