FORT WAYNE, IN — In a city proudly balanced between steeples and neon signs, two local adult entertainment venues are leaning into Fort Wayne’s unique cultural symmetry.
Showgirl 3 and Club 44 announced this week a new “Straight From the Pew” Sunday promotion, offering free cover charge to patrons who arrive immediately after church and present a church bulletin at the door.
Club managers say the idea was born out of necessity. Due to Fort Wayne’s longstanding no-topless ordinance, strip clubs in the city have struggled to compete with venues in neighboring communities, leading to lighter crowds—especially on Sundays.
“Fort Wayne has always been known as the city of churches and strip clubs,” said a manager at one of the clubs. “We’re just finally admitting that the Venn diagram overlaps.”
The promotion, valid Sundays from late morning through the early afternoon, is being marketed as a judgment-free transition from worship to… well, whatever comes next. Ushers may encourage reflection, but club staff say they’re encouraging something else entirely.
“We’re telling folks to hang on to those dollar bills,” the manager added. “Instead of putting them in the collection plate, bring them to the club. The sermon will still be there next week—but our Sunday crowd needs a little saving right now.”
Both clubs emphasized the promotion is optional, respectful, and strictly about boosting attendance—not replacing anyone’s faith. Still, early reaction suggests the campaign has struck a chord in a city where Sunday schedules are already tightly packed.
As one anonymous patron reportedly put it: “I come for the fellowship in the morning, and the fellowship in the afternoon. Fort Wayne just makes it convenient.”
