My wife and I went to check out baby Dolls last Friday night. We hadn't been there since it remodeled, mostly because the old Jags was terrible, so we'd just been going to Dixie Rose, but she decided she wanted to check out the new place.
We got there around 1130pm, decent crowd, but not "busy". Cover was $10 for her, free for me (military), so compared to DR where we usually have to pay $50 for both of us, BD was way less, so points there. I was concerned that there was no security to pat me down and check my wife's purse. I know people hate those things, but given how often shootings and stabbings seem to happen in Abilene, I would recommend they think about hiring someone, for the safety of the customers and employees.
Walked in and it is completely remodeled, looks nothing like the old Jags, which is a good thing. Layout is a little odd, but overall, it looks a whole lot better than before. Bathrooms were also remodeled, and both men's and women's were very clean, which is a rare thing in a strip club, so points there too.
There were 3 bartenders, and I saw what appeared to be 2 waitresses, so we sat down in the middle of the room. We waited 10, 20, almost 30 minutes for the one waitress who kept walking by us to stop and ask if we needed anything. That's unacceptable in a place that isn't BYOB. Finally, I got up and went to the bar. All 3 bartenders were busy dancing and chatting with customers, 1 was on her phone. After about 10 minutes, I flagged down the youngest one. I ordered a Cuba Libre and Cape Cod. I saw her get on her phone to look up what those drinks are (both are simple 3 ingredient drinks), which was concerning. Come to learn it was only her 2nd day, but even a 2nd day bartender should know that those are just rum and Coke and vodka and cranberry, but with lime. Given how long I'd waited for a drink, I told her to double the order. But even though she was new, and even though it was obvious she was trying not to be frazzled, the drinks were good, she was nice and polite and every other time I went up she knew what I wanted and always had a smile, and since the waitress only stopped by to pick up empties and napkins, I tipped the bartender well.
As for the girls, there were probably a dozen or so working. I'd say all but maybe one were Mexican, most spoke with a thick accent, and all spoke Spanish to me from the beginning since I'm also Hispanic, so if you're looking for diversity in your dancers, you won't find it here. For the most part, every dancer was attractive on some level. Most had obvious work done, boob jobs, BBLs, injections, tummy tucks, etc., pretty standard these days. There were 3 stages, but none of them had a pole. My wife mentioned how weird it was to see dancers on stage just standing around without a pole.
And when I say "Standing around" I'm not kidding, because the DJ was arguably the worst I've ever seen in a club. He was playing country ballads, he played Billy Joel, he played Pink Floyd, he played basically everything BUT strip club music. Some girls did their best to dance to what he was playing, but we saw some stare daggers at his booth once their song started, because they knew they weren't getting tipped that round. I even saw 2 mouth angry words at him from the stage, and one of the waitresses stared at him and shook her head at the music he was playing. We could only laugh at how bad it was, but we felt terrible for the girls, because no doubt he cost them money that night, and therefore cost himself money. Of all the things we disliked about the club, the slow service, the lack of diversity amongst the dancers, etc., the DJ was by far the worst.
Lastly, we aren't new to going to strip clubs as a couple. Most places we've visited have had plenty of dancers who see a couple and will sit with them just like any other customer with money. But some dancers get intimidated by couples, or fear that the woman will become jealous, and avoid them, even though they are avoiding money. Apparently, BD only employs the 2nd kind, because not once did a dancer stop by our table. My wife tipped countless girls, and yet not one came by to see if we wanted a dance or even just to talk. That's bad business, because we came with money to spend, and might've only dropped $200, $100 being our bar tab with 33% tip and the other $100 being what she tipped at the stages. Imagine if you're a single guy and not one dancer talks to you, how likely are you to return?
All in all, the improvements that have been made are impressive. The prices are very reasonable ($10 cover, $8 drinks, and even though we didn't get any, we were told private dances are only $20). The club is clean, or as clean as you'd expect a strip club to be. And if you like thick, surgically altered Latinas, there are plenty here. But the lack of overt security, lack of engagement by the dancers, and most of all the DJ, are major negatives that will make us think twice about coming back. read more
