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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