Déjà Vu (company)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Déjà Vu Consulting, Inc. is a U.S. company which (as of 2006) owns about 75 strip clubs in 16 U.S. states, as well as one club in Toronto and one in Paris.

The company is headquartered in Lansing, Michigan; it was founded and is controlled by Harry Mohney, who partners with Roger Forbes and opened his first Déjà Vu strip club in Seattle in 1987. At the time, his main business was the large-scale distribution of pornography; beginning in 1991 he served three years in prison for tax evasion.

The strip clubs are called "Déjà Vu Showgirls" or "Dream Girls" or (by agreement with Mohney's long-time friend Larry Flynt, who is not involved in the management of the clubs) "Larry Flynt's Hustler Club". Déjà Vu also owns most of the adult theatres and clubs in San Francisco; these however carry different names.

The clubs typically aim for a clean and upscale atmosphere and offer fully nude stage dancing as well as lap dances. Many do not serve alcohol, to avoid stringent liquor license requirements. Several clubs have associated boutiques selling sex toys, cigars, Déjà Vu merchandise etc. The chain organizes nation-wide competitions for the "Déjà Vu Showgirl of the Year".

Dancers in the clubs have the legal status of independent contractors. Their income results from tips and lap dance fees; about one third of this money is handed over to the house and other employees. In a landmark case in Minneapolis in 1994, dancers at the Déjà Vu club there won the right to be recognized as employees, arguing that they did not have full control over their working conditions. This resulted in payment of back wages and led to similar cases in several other states, often ending in confidential settlements out of court. Repeated attempts to unionize the Déjà Vu-owned clubs in San Francisco (modeled on the earlier unionization of the Lusty Lady peep show there) have so far been unsuccessful.