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The Original Hustler Store In WeHo Could Be Turned Into A Hotel
The iconic store (Photo by lostinangeles via the Creative Commons on Flickr)
The original Hustler store on the Sunset Strip will be shutting down—possibly to make way for a hotel in West Hollywood.
Right now the building is in escrow, and the city of West Hollywood and real estate brokers told Bloomberg that there has been some unidentified parties interested in turning the location into a hotel. A spokesman from Flynt Management Group LLC declined to comment on those rumors.
There are plans to move the original Hustler store that opened in 1998 to another location that has yet to be determined. Altogether, there are twelve Hustler stores around the country that sell all sorts of sex paraphernalia, including lingerie and sex toys. Its motto: "Relax. It’s just sex." At the store's reopening a few years ago, Flynt said that the store had always done well, especially as attitudes toward sex became more liberal—notably amongst women: "It's the female market that makes us, not the male."
But in an interview today with Bloomberg TV, Flynt also said that Hustler Magazine's days are numbered: "I don’t think Hustler is going to be around very much longer. It’s making money now. As long as it makes money, I’ll continue to publish, but we can see the handwriting on the wall."
UPDATE 7/29: The Hustler folks want to make sure that you know that Hustler will still be around, even though its location will be changing. The sent this statement today:
"There is some confusion about the future of the famed HUSTLER HOLLYWOOD store on Sunset Boulevard. To be clear, the building that houses the store and other tenants is being sold; however, the store itself will continue to operate and will be relocating to a new site in Los Angeles soon to be determined."
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