Adult entertainment clubs the Brass Bull and Brass Ass, along with Huddle’s Cafe in Newport, are permanently closing as the city moves forward with a $3.8 million purchase of the properties.
The deal is part of a downtown redevelopment effort.
Newport announced on July 22 that it would be purchasing the Brass Ass, Brass Bull, Huddle’s Cafe and six other parcels (nine in total) on and adjacent to the 600 block of Monmouth Street for $3.8 million. This deal still requires approval by the Newport Board of Commissioners, which will be discussed at a July 23 special meeting.
“This is an exciting step forward for Newport,” Newport Mayor Tom Guidugli Jr. said. “We can close a long-standing reinvestment gap, strengthen the connection between surrounding developments and shape a future for this block that reflects the energy, character and optimism of our city.”
The city said it plans to acquire the nine parcels to create a redevelopment site for future investment. As for what it intends to do with the locations, the city said it will seek requests for proposals from developers.
Five of the parcels are currently classified by the property valuation administration as “small businesses,” and the other four are marked as “parking lots.”
Before the city’s purchase, Newport CRE LLC acquired all nine parcels for $3.5 million through a series of interconnected purchase agreements that required every sale to close together.
According to the city’s redevelopment and economic analysis on the site, that structure showed the buyer considered the assembled site more valuable than the individual properties. Newport CRE later sold the combined property to the city for $3.8 million, a $300,000 premium the report attributes to the value of assembling the site into one redevelopment-ready property.
Four different companies and one trust owned the nine properties — BRAL Inc., BOKI LLC, KIBO LLC and the Armina Lee Trust. Although four companies and one trust held the parcels, the city said they were all ultimately controlled by Galen Kidwell.
Rumors surrounding the sudden closures began circulating in late June after the businesses were marked permanently closed on Google. The city’s purchase agreements require every business on the properties to cease operations before closing, terminate employees and business agreements and transfer the trade names Brass Ass, Brass Bull and Huddle’s to the buyer so they cannot be used in future operations.
Until its closure in June, the only operational strip bar in Newport was the Brass Ass. The Brass Bull and Brass Ass were both grandfathered into the city’s zoning. With Newport’s current zoning laws, other adult entertainment businesses cannot locate in the city.
The Brass Ass’ neon red electric sign featuring a martini glass and cartoon donkey is a remnant of a bygone era — an enduring reminder of Newport’s past. Across the street is its sister bar, the Brass Bull. It, too, has a picture of a cartoon donkey on its signage.
The city said it will be working to preserve the Brass Ass establishment’s iconic neon sign.
In the 1970s, there were about 20 adult entertainment clubs in Newport. During its “Sin City” era, Newport’s reputation preceded itself. The economic values of modern Las Vegas manifested in the small river town sitting at the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers.
While other Northern Kentucky cities like Covington had strip bars, no other city in the region had adult entertainment woven into the fabric of the community quite like Newport.
Newport’s economic association with organized crime, gambling and adult entertainment was the subject of national intrigue and political conflicts. During the city’s gambling era, A-list celebrities such as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sam Cooke and Marilyn Monroe frequented its bars, clubs and back rooms.
Read more about Newport’s “Sin City” past here.
“This investment opens a new era for Monmouth Street,” Guidugli said. “By
improving public safety and positioning this key block for private redevelopment, we are building a stronger downtown and a better quality of life for every Newport resident.”
What was the city’s interest in purchasing the properties?
The city’s redevelopment report cites several reasons for the acquisition along with the assemblage value, including a lack of investment, police costs and planning goals.
According to the city’s report, the nine properties saw no permitted private investment from April 2022 through July 2026, while the remainder of the 600 block recorded about $435,689 in permitted improvements. The city said this shows the acquisition area has not kept pace with surrounding development.
The report also points to police response costs associated with the properties.
Since 2021, police have been dispatched to the properties 1,214 times, including calls involving fights, assaults and reports of shots fired. The city said it “conservatively estimates” that this concentration of activity creates an annual public-safety burden of approximately $54,000. The 1,214 calls do not include the additional personnel and resources devoted to dedicated patrol details and undercover operations.
“This acquisition allows Newport to take a proactive approach to public safety and quality of life,” Newport City Manager John Hayden said. “Guiding these properties toward safer and more productive uses will help reduce continuing demands on our police officers and allow more resources to be directed toward community policing across Newport.”
The report also said the acquisition aligns with Newport’s comprehensive plan, which envisions mixed-use redevelopment, active ground-floor commercial space, upper-floor residential or office uses and improved connectivity along Monmouth Street.
