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OLATHE - A business that typically fares well during times of economic uncertainty is suffering along with everyone else.

Even the adult entertainment industry is taking a hit. The clientele of gentlemen’s clubs is taking their money elsewhere, their operators said.In his 14 years as manager of Bonita Flats Saloon, Guido Rutledge said that in years past when the economy has been down, the club has done better.

“But not this time,” he said. Rutledge said Bonita Flats’ business is down 30 percent since last year. And during the busy holiday months of November and December, when having a beer at a gentlemen’s club can be an escape, he said the business just wasn’t there.

Not even the allure of $2 beers can draw customers to the club.

“Our customers are average people who don’t have any expendable income,” he said.

The same is true for the End Zone in Spring Hill. Manager Neil Baesler said that before the economy went south last year, a typical day shift saw about 60 people come through the doors. Now it’s about half that, he said.

There are slight increases here and there, Baesler said, citing a spike on St. Patrick’s Day, but “business has definitely gone downhill.”

Baesler said an unintended consequence of the economy spiraling out of control was the number of women applying for jobs in recent months. He said women applying have been laid off from big companies. Others worked in factories, some were day care workers or even teachers.

“Most of them have college degrees,” Baesler said, who added that he’s recently been able to hire some women.

Rutledge said Bonita Flats employs about one-third fewer dancers than this time last year.

And they’re hurting too, he said. The same is true for some area bars, more businesses that cater exclusively to adult clientele.

Mark Smith, owner of the Brickyard, said his bar’s business has been in decline since 2007 and he’s not sure why.

He said things started to get better before gasoline prices skyrocketed, but that put things to a halt and his business hasn’t recovered partly because his suppliers raised their prices and haven’t lowered them.

In Missouri, state law permits bars to have daily happy-hour specials, but that’s not the case in Kansas, he said.

So to compete, they offer daylong specials on weekdays.

“If I do a deal, you can survive by volume,” he said of the bump in business from specials. “But if you can’t raise volume, you have to raise prices.”

He said Tuesdays when they offer $2, 12 oz. domestic beer cans during darts tournaments, and Thursdays when free tacos are available, are the busiest nights. Even busier than Friday and Saturday nights, Smith said.

When summer arrives, Smith expects his business to get better, “It’s never going to be as good as it was,” he said. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel for some establishments. Rich Hawkins, owner of Side Pockets, said “we’re doing things we’ve never done before that are keeping us afloat.”

He said they started offering new musical acts about a year and a half ago, expanded the dance floor, offer Ultimate Fighting Championship events for free and have a $4.99 lunch special that includes the option of shooting pool at no charge for an hour.

Hawkins said his business is a private club and is allowed to permit smoking, which has probably helped.

But overall, he said people still eat out less and drink at bars less. That’s why Side Pockets has re-branded itself as a restaurant, sports bar and upscale billiards parlor from just a pool hall that offered only three types of beer and a half-dozen sandwiches when it opened 15 years ago.

But it took time to make the transition to what Hawkins calls a “diversified entertainment venue.”

“We experienced a larger downturn last year because we weren’t ready to make adjustments,” he said. “This year we made adjustments.”

Side Pockets has embraced new technology, using text messaging to alert 1,800 customers of upcoming specials. And 24,000 customers have signed up for its mailing list.

Hawkins said the business has been aggressive with ways to promote its business and has enough wherewithal to weather the economic storm.

Rutledge of Bonita Flats and Smith of the Brickyard said when people have more money in their pockets, the businesses will recover some.

They’re not sure how to do that, but they’re hopeful it will happen.

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