A Houston Strip Club Briefly Reopens

The story of Club Onyx

What happened when a Houston strip club tried to reopen.

For Nneka “DJ Nneka” Ndukwe, the air outside Club Onyx smelled like freedom. The 36-year-old has spent the past two years spinning at the Houston strip club, making close to $3,000 most weekends — but after Texas’ social-distancing restrictions went into effect on March 20, her night job dried up like the rest of the restaurant and nightlife industry.

So, at midnight on May 1, the first day of Governor Greg Abbott’s phased reopening plan, Ndukwe was lined up like everybody else, waiting to get inside. “You can’t live off of unemployment forever,” she says.

Read the full story below.

The Brief New Normal of a Reopened Houston Strip Club