Old Club Edelweiss Days

[flabbybody]

NowBar on Leroy used to be great on Thursday nights. The girls would come out for smoke breaks around midnight. I used to drive down 7th Ave sometimes just for the show

[dc_guy_75]

Edelweiss is flower that only grows at high altitudes in the Alps (I know that from Googling the word on Altavista before Google).

I've been to many tranny bars throughout the world, and this was one of the few places where girls often outnumbered guys. The vast majority of the girls were working, and there was a lot of shade and attitude and general sleazyness. Often the pimps would be there, watching the girls from a distance.

The bartenders and the girl(s) to work the door were generally the friendliest (and often prettiest). I remember them more than the patrons.

The bouncers were easily the most surly and thuggish people you've ever seen can meet. Picture football hooligans. In retrospect, understandable.

But the diner was next door was awesome, and being 21 years old and being exposed to the hustle, made me wise beyond my years.

NYC was still in the late stages of shaking off the 1970's malaise then. Its so different now.

[El_hefe]

Yeah... I went out for a few years with one of the girls that did the door/ tend bar/ etc..., towards the end I got bored with the scene, it seemed more strung out & desperate than I remembered it being on 29 st. Little did I know the entire scene would virtually go away except for some on & off again hook up nights. Too bad. Even Sally's had it's own charm. Now that I'm older there's not much that appeals in the bar scene.

Dino was a jerk, but he was just managing for someone else who dealt strictly on a cash basis, if you get my drift.

West coast back room of the Queen Mary was cool too, but I only got out there a few times.

[Shining Star]

Edelweiss was the name of the restaurant in Mid-Town/Hearld Square, owned by "Dino".

Events sort of went like this if one can remember:

Dino's restaurant business was dragging, especially at nights (this was the 1980's when that particular area of Mid-Town was still rather gritty, and worse for anyone owning a restaurant or some such business, pretty much shut down by mid-evening and certianly on weekends when the garment center and other companies were closed).

Anywho, Fabric Factory had been chucked out of their weekly bar spot in the West 40's and had moved down to a bar in the West 20's, not far from where the new apartment building and Whole Foods is now.

Dino had heard about the trannie parties and tought it would be a good way to fill his restaurant on the off hours, and actually openly courted some trannies to come to his bar, and thus start attracting a crowd.

In the start things were rather sedate, with girls usually going back and forth between both clubs (Speed Limit and Edelweiss were only Thurs-Sat nights IIRC), and Dino usually let girls in for free.

Then Dino got greedy and saw what was going on, ie; that the girls were working. So he began to raise his cover charges, charging *all* partrons, and even charged girls if they went out and came back later (D realised they often were leaving to turn a date, thus he got his "cut" by charging them another cover fee if they came back).

Eventually Speed Limit closed, and that left Dino's party as the only trannie event in the area. As things got popular he pretty much almost abandoned his daytime restaurant and became infatuated (if that is the proper word), with the trannie scene, more to the point the money he could make.

As often the case, things got out of control and the area sound Edelweiss began to resemble a trannie stroll on party nights. Complaint from area residents piled up, raids and local street action by the NYPD (they were literally based around the corner), so one thing led to another and Dino moved his action to the Westside location.

Things continued on as before, only getting more out of hand, with again area residents complaining and so forth. More raids, shutdowns etc.. Each time however Dino was able to go to court and plead not only didn't he know what the trannies were doing in his club, but that he had no control over such things.

Finally NYPD and NYC had enough and set up what has to go down as the biggest trannie bar sting/bust in NYC history. The place was under NYP watch for months, and when the raid finally happened, am told when the lights went on there were more LE officers (undercover of course), in the bar than trannies/patrons.

FWIU it took ages to process everyone in the club, and most everyone went "downtown" especially those without proper ID. Many of the girls already had open cases/records/warrants which didn't help matters. As for the guys in the club, they went downtown as well, which lead to some rather interesting telephone calls one has no doubt. Often guys going to such places leave their ID/wallets in their cars, well (again from what one heard), the Po-Po wasn't letting anyone go anywhere to get anything. So if you didn't have ID on you, you was going ....

In the end enough undercover evidence ws collected to convict and send Dino away for awhile. This is why he can longer obtain a liquour license and upon his release tried to start "Edelweiss" again, however renting space in another bar using their license.

When Edelweiss first started out is really was nice place to go for a drink hang, and hang out. But as the scene became more and more of a stroll/hardcore, lots of both trannies and guys stopped going.

Last time one went, the place had been raided and couldn't serve drinks, but the bartenders had a "stash" and were offering that. Only went because we drove past on the way from Roxy and one of the trannies I was rolling with simply *had* to go in for some reason, otherwise one wouldn't a have bothered, much less pay good money for the cover charge.

Anywho, whilst standing near the front bar upstairs (waiting for aforementioned "friend", some trannie tried to pick this guy's pocket and he caught her. A fight broke out and the trannie pulled a knife. That was it for me! Found my friend and told her I was rolling and if she wasn't coming, she could make her way home the best way she know how.

[ossumpeiEIEIO]

It did turn into a stroll, that was part of the attraction.

Damn, I picked up some hotties in front of the place on 29th.

[joanne_sven]

It is difficult to judge what Edelweiss represented to a lot of people. But it's a straight shot for law enforcement to judge that the only component it represented socially speaking was drugs, selling booze without a license, prostitution and other illegal activities. From a patron's perspective, I may have lucky, because during the days I used to go there, I found a lot of dates who were out to find a match, a lover, and purely go on with their lives and maybe get married. I went out so many time with Octavia, a Hawaiian beauty out of this world, and I actually planned to get a divorce, but then came my first child, and I dropped out of the scene for obvious reasons. On the other hand, you had Sandra, a nasty bitch whose only love was the money. I used to tease her and tell her that she'd date me for love only and she insulted me several times. I never connected the dots with drug thing, because I never needed drugs to get high and never even tried anything at all, not even a joint. So when when I read stuff about Nino or whatever the owner's name was on the Daily News, I stopped going there because I knew the place was gonna be busted.

[TrannyStripperParty]

I remember the Edelweiss days very well when was next to the Diner. I have watched those girls go from being a dragqueen to a tranny. I am still friends with alot of them. Some of the girls are still around and even come to my "Tranny Strip" party on Sundays. Like Zoie, Josie, Sandy Michelle, Gina Germaine, Portia, Miss Pearl, Jened, Joesephine, Afrika, Monica House of Field, Abby, Jessica Foxx, Ebonee Excell etc...

I hope everyone is happy with the NEW Transsexual Party "Tranny Strip" that I have started here in NYC. The party has become a hit and a sensation. The owner Dino was very brave to do what he did in running a drag / TS bar/ club. Too bad the place isn't still around but it will be legendary to the people that had been there before and share stories with one another.

I welcome everyone to my "Tranny Strip" party ....gays, straights, bi-sexuals, cross dressers, transsexuals, lesbians and drag queens. And YES we have had all the above there every week. With no problems about everyone getting along.

"Tranny Strip" EVERY SUNDAY!!!!!
New York City's FIRST Transsexual Stripper Party!!

PACKED EVERY SUNDAY!!!

Party from 9pm to 4am

Lap Dances
Over 30 TS Strippers
Champagne Room
Weekly TS Porn Star Appearnces
Weekly Shows
Bachelor Parties
Birthday Parties

Evolve
9pm to 4am
221 East 58th Street Between 2-3 Ave.
** Outdoor Patio in back of Evolve where you can smoke and drink.

Men $25 for admission
Girls $15 for admission (Non-Strippers)
Lap Dances $20 PER SONG! In the Champagne Room.
* Prices subject to change on special events


Please take a look at my website for weekly information on the party and pics of the featured dancers: www.TrannyStrip.com

[canihavu]

Are you saying eddie murphy was fucking around with trannies? wow i thought i was one incident. and to think

Nah I have had a few trannies tell me Eddie Murphy stories when I used to hang out Edelwiess back in the day. Damn Sally and Edelwiess oh how I used to spendmy time, lol.

[blakpadi]

I was 21 at the time-went home with Dana Douglas one night -she lived a few blocks away,think her boyfriend was upstairs...

[Icanthelpmyself]

I can't say I was at Edelweiss but I sure remember Sally's! I remember the mid 80's early 90's I go to the peep booth on the 42st and get all horny then go to Sally's cover charge 10 bucks some of the girls their were so hot I want to just suck all of them. I had alot of my fantasies forfilled, I'm married now still get the eager to hit the clubs but live to far, wish they had some of those clubs upstate.