Massachusetts Strip Club Strips Down Marijuana, Topless Budtenders Plans

Club Castaway, a strip club in Whately, Massachusetts, may reopen in August after being closed since the start of the pandemic, reports the Union Leader. However, owners Nicholas Spagnola and Julius Sokol say a previous proposal to convert the club into the country’s first “topless” cannabis retail outlet is no longer a priority.

Spagnola and Sokol had initially planned to transform Club Castaway into a marijuana dispensary where the staff, known as “budtenders,” would be topless. They believed  the concept would help them stand out in an increasingly competitive cannabis market. However, they have now decided to focus on the club’s traditional business instead.

During a Select Board meeting in February, Spagnola described their idea as cannabis “with a small twist,” the Union Leader says.

Club Castaway, the only strip club in Franklin County, has been in operation since the 1970s. Spagnola and Sokol, who are real estate agents based in Boston, took over the club in late 2019 after purchasing it from its previous owner.