For decades, Washington was the one state in the country where a strip club could not sell you a drink. An absolute ban on alcohol sales in adult entertainment venues turned the state’s clubs into so-called juice bars: soda, energy drinks and bottled water, no beer, no cocktails. That ended in 2024.
On March 24, 2024, Governor Jay Inslee signed Senate Bill 6105, widely called the “Strippers’ Bill of Rights.” The law did two things at once. It repealed the rule that kept liquor licenses out of venues with full or partial nudity, and it imposed a set of workplace requirements on clubs. Later that year, Dream Girls in SoDo became the first strip club in Washington to serve alcohol in roughly four decades.
What the rules actually say now
SB 6105 was pushed by the dancer-led group Strippers Are Workers and passed with bipartisan support. The provisions that matter most on the ground:
- Alcohol is now legal in adult entertainment venues. The bill repealed WAC 314-11-050, the Liquor and Cannabis Board’s “lewd conduct” rule that had been on the books since 1975 and effectively barred nude venues from holding a liquor license.
- House fees are capped. Dancers pay the club a fee per shift. The law caps that fee at $150 or 30% of what the dancer earned during the shift, whichever is less, and bars clubs from carrying unpaid fees over to future shifts.
- Safety equipment and staffing. Panic buttons in dressing rooms, bathrooms and any room where a worker can be alone with a customer; keypad entry to dressing rooms; at least one security officer on site during operating hours.
- Training and documentation. Mandatory training for dancers and employees on sexual harassment and human trafficking, written procedures for handling or ejecting violent or intoxicated customers, and documented records when a customer is accused of assault, harassment, prostitution or trafficking.
A liquor license is not automatic. Each club has to apply, and a license depends on the venue meeting the law’s requirements — so alcohol service still varies club by club. The law’s workplace provisions were set to be implemented from January 1, 2025.
Seattle’s own history is separate from the state law and still shapes the map. The city imposed a “temporary” moratorium on new strip clubs in 1988 and renewed it annually for 17 years, until federal judge James Robart struck it down as unconstitutional in 2005. The city then proposed a four-foot rule requiring a buffer between dancer and patron, along with a bright-lighting requirement; both were eventually overturned. What remains is a 2007 ordinance barring adult cabarets within 800 feet of schools, parks, community centers and child care centers — a zoning rule, not a conduct rule, and one reason the club map has barely changed in years.
One legacy of the moratorium: the Déjà Vu chain, founded in Lake City in 1985 by Harry Mohney with partner Roger Forbes, became the dominant operator. The Stranger reported in 2019 that Déjà Vu-affiliated venues made up most of the clubs in Seattle. Several clubs listed below carry different names but sit within that same corporate family.
Seattle
- Déjà Vu Showgirls – Seattle — 1510 1st Ave (Upper), Seattle WA 98101
- Little Darlings – Seattle — 2027 Westlake Ave, Seattle WA 98121
- DreamGirls at SoDo – Seattle — 1530 1st Ave South, Seattle WA 98134
- DreamGirls at Ricks – Seattle — 11332 Lake City Way NE, Seattle WA 98125
- Pandora’s Adult Cabaret — 8914 Lake City Way NE, Seattle
- Sands Showgirls — 7509 15th Ave NW, Seattle
- Kittens Cabaret — 5800 4th Ave S, Seattle 98108
- Déjà Vu Showgirls – Lake City — 14556 Bothell Way NE, Lake Forest Park WA 98155 (just north of the city line)
Tacoma
- Dreamgirls at Fox’s – Tacoma — 10707 Pacific Ave S, Tacoma WA 98444
Spokane and Tukwila
- Deja Vu Showgirls in Tukwila — 15011 Tukwila International Blvd, Tukwila WA 98188
- Déjà Vu Showgirls – Spokane — 8722 E Sprague Ave, Spokane WA 99206. Note: RANGE Media reported that this club closed in September 2023 and the property was sold, leaving Eastern Washington without a strip club. Confirm status before travelling.
What to check before you go
- Whether that specific club has a liquor license. The state ban is gone, but licences are granted per venue. Call ahead rather than assuming a bar; several Washington clubs still operate as juice bars.
- Payment method and ATM fees. Cash practices differ by club. Ask at the door what is accepted for entry, dances and drinks, and what any on-site ATM charges.
- Current hours and whether the club is still open. Washington has had roughly ten clubs statewide and closures happen; the Spokane case shows a listed address is not proof of an operating business.