Silk Exotic owners want to open strip clubs in downtown, Walker’s Point

The owners of the Silk Exotic gentlemen’s club located on Silver Spring Road in Milwaukee have filed license applications seeking permission to open high end gentlemen’s clubs in downtown Milwaukee and in the city’s Walker’s Point neighborhood.
The downtown club would be called Silk East and would occupy 10,468 square feet of space at 730 N. Old World Third St., formerly occupied by Martini Mike’s, which closed in May after a fight led to a fatal shooting.
The Walker’s Point club, called Satin, would occupy a vacant, 20,000-square-foot building at 117 W. Pittsburgh Ave.
A similar application to operate a gentlemen’s club in the Walker’s Point building was filed last year, but was later withdrawn after hundreds of individuals in the neighborhood expressed opposition. Now the application for Satin has been re-submitted.
The applicant for the clubs is Ferol LLC, whose stockholders are Scott Krahn, Jon Ferraro and Joseph Modl.
Ferol LLC will attempt to move the application for licenses for the gentlemen’s clubs through the city’s approval process, said attorney Michael Whitcomb. The application for the Walker’s Point club was withdrawn last year, “because the reaction was not anticipated and because it was requested that it be withdrawn by representatives at city hall,” he said.
Ursula Twombly, a principal with Continuum Architects + Planners, located near the proposed site of the Walker’s Point club, was involved with the movement to oppose it.
“I’m very upset we have to go through this all again,” she said.
Neighborhood opposition to the Walker’s Point gentleman’s club is “irrational,” Whitcomb said. The operation will have a significant security presence, he said.
“People go there to be entertained,” Whitcomb said. “They do not go there to get rowdy. It’s a high-end gentlemen’s club. Every major downtown area has a gentlemen’s club. They add to the nightlife of an urban downtown.”
Satin and Silk East would both have 30 years leases, according to the license applications with the city.
The entrance to the Walker’s Point club would not be on Pittsburg Avenue, instead it would face a parking lot at the back of the building to the south, Whitcomb said. The property has 64 parking spaces, according to the application filed with the city.
Ferol LLC anticipates each club will attract about 100 customers each day Sundays through Wednesdays, about 150 customers on Thursdays, 400 customers on Fridays and 500 customers on Saturdays.
The Satin plans submitted to the city show at least 366 seats, plus additional seating in VIP dining and lounge areas. The Silk East plans show seating for 254, plus a VIP lounge.
The clubs would be open from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sundays through Thursdays and from 11 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.