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Thursday, December 17, 2009

News Mynt Strip Club Owner—Former Bar in Ohio Hosted Brutal Man Vs. Bear Wrestling

Posted by Sarah Mirk on Thu, Dec 17, 2009 at 11:34 AM

Frustrated that the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) looked likely to approve a license for Mynt Gentleman's Club on NE 33rd and Sandy, Laurelhurst Neighborhood Association Chair Eric Fruits went digging. And, oh man, he struck some dirt.

Seeing that Mynt co-owner Tracy Doss listed on the OLCC's individual history form that he had previously held a liquor license for a bar in Ohio, Fruits got in contact with the Ohio liquor commission. According to their records, Doss owned or managed not just one bar in Ohio, but four. One of the places, called B.K. Flyers, had a bizarre and sordid history while Doss was its owner.

The Columbus Dispatch wrote this about the bar in 1995:

Picture_2.png

Bears versus drunken college students? A January 12, 1995 article in the Columbus Dispatch spells out how the bear vs. man bar battles would go down. The bear's name, by the way, was Ceasar:

Each night, hundreds paid a $ 3 cover charge to watch the bear wrestle challengers who paid $ 10 for the chance to win $ 1,000 from Ceasar's owners - World Animal Studios of Columbia Station, Ohio - if they were strong enough to pin the bear.

Since then, the 12-year-old bear, which stands 7 feet, 6 inches and weighs about 900 pounds, has returned to town periodically.

RAWWWRRR! (this not an actual photo of BK Flyers or Ceaser T. Bear)
  • RAWWWRRR! (this not an actual photo of BK Flyers or Ceaser T. Bear)

All the uproar over the bear wrestling led the Columbus City Council to move to ban kangaroo boxing and bear wrestling within city limits. Doss says he has "no comment" on the application or the bear wrestling of yesteryear.

Perhaps fearing Doss would bring bear wrestling into our midst, or just realizing OLCC staff should probably have found out about the a bar owner's mixed history on their own, the OLCC commission voted this morning to postpone their decision on providing a license to Mynt until their February meeting. "That's the best result I could have expected," says Fruits.

 

Comments (34) RSS

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1
This is so awesome.
Posted by Matt Davis on December 17, 2009 at 11:45 AM · Report
2
Eric Fruits: Once again doing the job that local journalists won't do. On the other hand, you guys printed this and I'm mentioning it on my blog so I guess...
Matt, where's your phone number again? I want to call you so I can set up a Matt versus Bear extravaganza.
Love,
Victoria
Posted by Victoria Taft on December 17, 2009 at 11:54 AM · Report
3
ok.
1. Strippers
2. Bear Wrestling
3. Notorious location known for rowdy behavior
4. Walking distance from quiet Lhurst neighborhood
5. Booze

What is not to like?
Posted by miguelaron on December 17, 2009 at 11:59 AM · Report
4
Seriously, the OLCC better not screw up our chances to see a bear maul drunk college kids! That'll be the last straw.
Posted by luckymike on December 17, 2009 at 12:03 PM · Report
5
Hi Victoria, it's 503 502 2106. And I will wrestle a bear for you ANY TIME.
Posted by Matt Davis on December 17, 2009 at 12:04 PM · Report
6
I feel more outrage over how they have bastardized the spelling of "mint". Why the y?

And is bear rasslin' in bars legal in Portland? What about kangaroo boxing? And, er, how is this relevant to the OLCC decision?
Posted by pork chop on December 17, 2009 at 12:06 PM · Report
7
This makes me really sad.
Posted by Dave Bow on December 17, 2009 at 12:06 PM · Report
8
Pork Chop,

Truth be told, I was originally interested in this story purely because I learned that Doss also managed Spyce strip club downtown. He's got a thing for Y's.

While it's worthwhile purely for its hilarious elements, the bear rasslin' background is relevant b/c Doss did not list the bar or its violations on his individual history form, as the OLCC requires.
Posted by s.mirk on December 17, 2009 at 12:11 PM · Report
9
Mynt, you know. It's like Syfy.
Posted by The One True b!X on December 17, 2009 at 12:13 PM · Report
10
Ah, I see. Thanks Sarah.
Posted by pork chop on December 17, 2009 at 12:17 PM · Report
11
We must approve this establishment post-haste.
Posted by Suburban Porn King on December 17, 2009 at 12:18 PM · Report
12
Is there anything currently on the Portland or OLCC books against kangaroo boxing or bear wrestling?
Posted by Rusty! on December 17, 2009 at 12:27 PM · Report
13
Start at ORS 167.310:

http://www.leg.state.or.us/ors/167.html
Posted by bd on December 17, 2009 at 12:37 PM · Report
14
What does a Y look like?
Posted by DemonJuice on December 17, 2009 at 12:46 PM · Report
15
bd,

thanks to the link to that Oregon law... mostly because it includes this horrifying line that I'm glad exists:
"167.390 Commerce in fur of domestic cats and dogs prohibited"
Posted by s.mirk on December 17, 2009 at 12:53 PM · Report
16
Absolutely. That's a fun thing about state law: the level of minutia contained within our laws is staggering. So if someone wants to wrestle a bear or punch a kangaroo, then they'll probably run afoul of animal cruelty laws.
Posted by bd on December 17, 2009 at 1:14 PM · Report
17
What if they just want to get punched by a kangaroo? They're always wearing those boxing gloves.
Posted by tk. on December 17, 2009 at 1:28 PM · Report
18
So...the OLCC doesn't usually do out-of-state background checks for applicants?

That said, shouldn't the applicant's record in Oregon matter most? If Doss has alreay proven himself with other y-tastic establishments in our city, denying his application over a 15-year-old smudge seems a little alarmist. Did his last strip club feature animal cruelty?

Of course I don't approve of bear wrestling or donkey punching or anything of the sort.
Posted by Chunty McHutchence on December 17, 2009 at 1:47 PM · Report
19
I will never forgive SciFi for changing their name to "SyFy."
Posted by Baltar666 on December 17, 2009 at 2:09 PM · Report
20
I hope they have wymym wrasslin bare.
Posted by Demondog on December 17, 2009 at 2:15 PM · Report
21
or wymyN even
Posted by Demondog on December 17, 2009 at 2:15 PM · Report
22
@Baltar - They couldn't trademark SciFi, because it's a genre, like "nonfiction!" Anyone could sell DVDs or T-shirts that said "SciFi" on them. Gosh, am I the only nerd who gets it?
Posted by Reymont on December 17, 2009 at 2:17 PM · Report
23
This reminds me of the Torchwood weevil fight club episode, for some reason.
Posted by tk. on December 17, 2009 at 2:31 PM · Report
24
There's nothing in the rulebook that says a golden retriever can't kick field goals.
Posted by martin on December 17, 2009 at 2:48 PM · Report
25
I think Bob R needs to work this one into his story.
Posted by Matthew D on December 17, 2009 at 3:25 PM · Report
26
I'm guessing the club is named Mynt because there's already a bar called Mint (swanky martini drinks) in N. Portland.
Posted by A. L. Venable on December 17, 2009 at 4:23 PM · Report
27
I'm guessing it's spelled Mynt because there's already an establishment called Mint (swanky martini bar in N. Portland).
Posted by A. L. Venable on December 17, 2009 at 4:24 PM · Report
28
Heck if you want to see college boys wrasslin Bears just go to the Eagle on Killingsworth
Posted by pandaprincesss on December 17, 2009 at 6:36 PM · Report
29
poor bear...
im pretty sure the animal lovers of this city would shut down any show that directly benefited from violence against a confused bear.
Posted by ntrecek on December 17, 2009 at 11:12 PM · Report
30
@Matthew - I don't think I'll work this one into the story, but I have a true story about boxing in bars that might be worth posting later.

@Pandaprincess - Except it's on Lombard. Not that I would know anything about such things.
Posted by Bob R. on December 18, 2009 at 12:56 PM · Report
31
A lot of you speculate and make accusations based on information you dont know to be true. Fruits conveniently says "bars doss owned OR managed. Ever stop to think doss wasnt the owner of the bear-wrestling bar and didnt call all the shots? Check out HIS bar Spyce Gentlemans Club and see what its really like. I work there because i choose to work in a clean, safe, professional environment. I love the owners and the entire staff. I cant wait for the new club to open! Jez
Posted by Jezpdx on January 12, 2010 at 12:53 PM · Report
32
@Jezpdx -- Do you actually reside in Laurelhurst Proper?
Posted by kms on January 15, 2010 at 9:21 AM · Report
33
Ohio Strip Clubs
info@dancer4me.com
Awesome bears and boobs...what's not to like!
http://www.dancer4me.com/ohio-strip-clubs.…
Posted by Ohio Strip Clubs on March 5, 2010 at 5:47 PM · Report
34
Awesome bears and boobs...what's not to like.
info@dancer4me.com
http://www.dancer4me.com/ohio-strip-clubs.…
Posted by Ohio Strip Clubs on March 5, 2010 at 5:49 PM · Report

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