Greater Victoria has been stripped of its sole adult-only performance venue with the sudden closure of Saanich’s Fox Showroom Pub at the Red Lion Inn.

 

Staff members were reportedly alerted via text message on Sunday that the popular strip club would shutter immediately.

 

Management identified the closure as permanent and stated that rising insurance rates have placed a financial burden on the entire Red Lion Inn collection of businesses stemming from violent incidents within the pub. Closing the pub significantly decreases the insurance rates.

 

 

Known commonly as The Fox, the 'peeler bar' has operated at the inn since the mid-1960’s along the 3300-block of Douglas Street between Ardersier and Saanich roads. A fire in 2001 forced its closure for nearly two years before re-opening in a fully renovated and modernized space in 2003.

 

An adjacent bar and lounge known as the V Lounge, formerly called Diego's, is not affected by the closure.

 

The Fox has operated as the sole strip club in Greater Victoria following the demise of downtown Victoria’s Monty’s Showroom Pub in 2013 at the Victoria Plaza Hotel (which was recently destroyed by fire).

 

Ending The Fox's short-lived solo reign was Svelte Lounge in Langford (now defunct) which began operating in 2013 as a strip club before it closed within one year of business. Ma Miller’s Pub in Langford’s Goldstream neighbourhood also tried to throw its hat into the adult-only entertainment arena although that plan never gained traction.

 

All is not lost on the Saanich night life and entertainment front, however. An Alberta-based group has applied to the municipality to open a nearly 650-seat entertainment venue at Uptown Shopping Centre situated only a stone's throw from The Fox. Known as The Banquet, the two-storey venue will feature 11 bowling lanes, a rooftop recreational space and dining options. C

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