A former strip club that was a landmark on Route 170 in Poland for many years is now a new neighborhood and family friendly establishment.
When people drive past the old Arnold's Lounge in Poland, they'll see that a new business has taken over. What used to be a strip club is now the Back Yard Bar and Grill.
The new owners are Melissa and Bill Booth, who live in the neighborhood and decided to buy the building when they saw it for sale.
"Actually, over the years we always joked about owning Arnold's. And so when it came up for sale we thought let's go look at it," said Melissa Booth.
"I think just being where the location was, we just felt that the building, the structure was in decent shape, and we felt we could do things with it," Bill Booth said.
Arnold's Lounge was open for more than 20 years. Melissa said the club had been open for so long she didn't really pay attention or care about the fact it was a gentlemen's club.
"I mean I knew what it was, and either you came here or you didn't," Melissa said.
She said they want people to be comfortable coming into the new business, and they also want to erase any stigmas from the business that used to be there.
"That's our goal and I think that's gonna be tough. I think we need to get the word out. I had a woman in here Friday night, and she said, 'Everybody's been talking about it. They knew someone new took it over, but I was afraid to come in here.' And she said 'Now that I'm in here I'm so excited and I'm gonna put it on Facebook'," Melissa said.
"I'm very much happier, because I've always wanted to stop here, and I didn't get into the atmosphere before with the owners and which it wasn't my style at my age," said customer Anita Henry.
The Back Yard Bar and Grill will celebrate the official grand opening on Saturday to coincide with the running of the Kentucky Derby.
