The only praying going on at Epic Palm Beach Wednesday night will likely be that the bartenders pour strong drinks.
The fully nude adult night club on Tuesday hung a tarp with its name on it in front of the former Double Dee’s Ranch. One day later, they are opening.
“The church didn’t follow through with what they were supposed to do, and the door was open for us to follow through,” said Ian Chrissman, Epic’s general manager.
NewSound Church, currently operating out of Wellington Community High School, in September told the Palm Beach Post it was interested in buying Double Dee’s Ranch and turning into a place of worship. But plans fell through for the site, located at 8199 Southern Blvd., just west of Florida’s Turnpike.
Double Dee’s has a sordid history. In 2013, a company managed by car and yacht magnate John Staluppi, once described by the FBI as a member of the Colombo crime family, bought the site.
The club then sold to a firm managed by Staluppi’s son-in-law Scott Lizza, and then closed in October 2018.
Crissman declined to say who the current owner is except that it is “a company out of Texas and Las Vegas.” But a check of Sunbiz shows that Epic Palm Beach is registered to Scott Lizza.
Social media reaction to the new club was mixed. Some said the area did not need another strip club, while others said the area did not need another church. One person was interested in a job, and another called it an “STD pit.”
Chrissman said Epic will offer three full bars and a full food menu focused on tapas. They have about 30 employees, he said, including live deejays and aerial acts on a trapeze.
Color-changing LED lights line the walls and hang from the ceiling. Tables and chairs surround a 360-degree raised stage with two stripper poles. The second floor includes four sky boxes and VIP seating.
Crissman said future plans include a dance club in the adjacent space that makes up the other half of the building.
He said Epic’s hours will be 6 p.m. until 5 a.m. for the first few weeks and will later extend from noon until 5 a.m.
“It’s a clean environment,” Crissman said. “We don’t deal with drugs. It will be secure, safe. We’re friendly neighbors and we’re here to support the community.”
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