09-05-2025
2001 Odyssey acquires Mons Venus to carry on strip club legacy in Tampa
Full-nude club Mons Venus and its fiery owner Joe Redner helped Tampa earn the reputation as a 'strip club capital of the country."
Now, 2001 Odyssey — the strip joint across the street with a spaceship on its roof — plans to carry on its legacy.
2001 Odyssey acquired the 'world-famous' Mons Venus at 2040 N. Dale Mabry Highway in January, owner Don Kleinhans told the Tampa Bay Times on Thursday.
'What's happening is we purchased the business, not the real estate,' said Kleinhans, president of 2001 Inc. 'So we have the business but (Redner) is the landlord.'
The goal is to preserve the Mons Venus — with some improvements — instead of seeing an out-of-town company take over.
'For like, the last 15 years, Joe's been a buddy of ours. But it's interesting, because he was also our direct competitor, and we've always kind of worked together instead of against each other,' Kleinhans said. 'And in October, he gave me a call and said, 'Hey, listen, I think the time might be right. And I've always told him I was interested.''
Kleinhans said 2001 Odyssey will pay Redner rent as well as a consulting fee.
'It wasn't a sale. It was a management contract,' Redner said when reached by a reporter over the phone. 'I don't want to talk to you about it.'
Before opening the Mons Venus, Redner was credited with launching Tampa's first full-nude club in the 1970s. Some call him the father of the lap dance. In the late '90s, he led a highly-publicized war against the city of Tampa over the 'six-foot rule,' an ordinance that required naked dancers to maintain a distance of six feet from patrons.
Kleinhans has been quiet about the new management contract as his team worked to give the Mons a facelift. He wants it to be 'the same club, just refreshed.'
'It really needed modernization, and I think it was one of the last clubs in the U.S. that was operating on a jukebox,' he said.
All 2,000 bulbs in the iconic Mons Venus sign have been replaced. Redner famously used the marquee to spread political messages and even chastise former Tampa Mayor Dick Greco.
Other upgrades include new upholstery, lighting and sound, plus adding mirrors to 'every flat surface.' There's a private VIP room where full-nude dances will continue. The bathroom will soon get doors on the stalls, after years without them.
Redner always had female leadership at the Mons Venus, so Kleinhans hired Bambi Wilde, former Miss Nude World, to be general manager.
'I think Joe Redner has allowed all of the clubs in Tampa to have the success that they have, just due to his morality and his position of fighting for the industry. And I've always looked up to Joe,' Kleinhans said. 'I just think it's very important as a world-renowned place and a Tampa landmark that the legacy continues.'
