BEVERLY HILLS, CA – In a sense, Larry Flynt has been serving up hot dishes for years; his company now plans to do so in a much more literal fashion, by opening a chain of themed restaurants under the moniker, “Hustler Bar & Grille.”According to Hustler Bar & Grille president Brad Saltzman, Las Vegas is where the restaurant will make its debut, and the company anticipates having 40 locations within the next 10 years. Following the launch in Las Vegas, the next markets the company is eying for expansion include San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Hustler Bar & Grille will feature Hustler and Larry Flynt memorabilia (“more Larry than Hustler,” says Salzman), televised sports, and an extensive menu with over 100 selections. The atmosphere will be casual and the prices reasonable – an average lunch ticket will run approximately $15 per person, and dinner $17 – as the restaurant seeks to serve an audience that goes well beyond Hustler’s adult product customer base.
“Think Hooters meets Hard Rock Café meets Cheesecake Factory,” Salzman said, emphasizing that the restaurant’s theme will not focus so much on an adult entertainment angle, and more on “things that the general public would find fascinating about Larry Flynt.”
The menu will run the gamut from classic cheeseburgers to spicy jambalaya pastas, and a number of Flynt’s personal favorites, including an original Hustler barbeque sauce; “The one Larry uses at his Mansion BBQ’s,” according to the menu entry for the Hickory Burger.
Memorabilia adorning the walls will include photos from Flynt’s run for Governor in California, and Flynt posing with a variety of celebrities, including shots taken with Woody Harrelson during the filming of The People Vs. Larry Flynt.
Hustler’s move into the restaurant business reflects a larger trend that appears to be taking hold with leading adult industry companies – forays into mainstream, leveraging of adult brands into traditionally non-adult markets, and general diversification of income streams. Playboy has recently announced plans to open high-end fashion stores in south Asia in response to the success of Playboy-branded product lines at boutiques in Europe and the US.
The Hustler Bar and Grille is just the latest in a long list of Flynt ventures, which includes The Hustler Casino in Gardena, California, the Hustler Hollywood retail chain, a line of lingerie, adult websites, a mail-order division, cable and satellite operations, and a large selection of printed publications, including the flagship magazine which started it all.
