Erotica Sold, Japanese Boss Plans Sparkling Refit, Name Change in ’24

Nana Plaza’s youth-ownership wave continued with Erotica sold to a 33-year-old Japanese man planning a big renovation and name change.

Erotica’s Thai owners had been actively shopping their bar for more than a year. They reportedly finally got their asking price of about 12 million baht and Erotica sold late last month.

Erotica Sold But Not Changed Yet

Don’t expect any immediate changes after Erotica sold. The renovation and name change isn’t expected to begin for about three months after the peak of high season is over. For now, it remains the same Erotica it has been since moving into the spot that was once Playskool on the ground floor of the Soi 4 complex.

The bar’s mamasans and male Thai manager, Zak, are still working and there’s been no new infusion of dancing damsels, although some ladies who previously left have returned after learning Erotica sold. Drink prices remain unchanged.

For now, Erotica’s new Japanese boss is evaluating his shiny new toy. While new to the Thailand go-go bar industry, he owns two hostess clubs in northern Japan. As such, he splits his time between Thailand and Japan, with his young, attractive girlfriend – a former dancer in Rainbow 4 who speaks Japanese – managing the business on a day-to-day basis.

What renovations are planned remain uncertain at this point but it will include a change in one of the most-storied bar names in Nana Plaza’s history. “Erotica” has hung above the door of various spots in Nana Plaza for more than 20 years. It now will join other beloved and departed brands like Cathouse, Playskool and G-Spot.

Longtime staff members didn’t seem too upset that Erotica sold and its name about to change. The consensus was that, yes, it was a famous name many people knew but it had had “bad luck” attached to it for years.

Erotica’s Storied History

Indeed, Erotica has had nothing but tough times since before Covid-19, when it was located where Tycoon is today, on the main staircase at the top floor. The last time it was truly busy on a regular basis was in 2016-17, and its best days were probably five years before that.

The “old” Erotica, in Tycoon’s spot today, actually started out a flight down, in the space where the Chili ladyboy bar – owned by the same Thai family – had operated until the first Covid-19 shutdown. The owners flipped the two bars to give Erotica more space and made Chili profitable.

In fact, no bar has made money in Chili’s final spot before or since. Whiskey & Go-Go, which opened there during the pandemic, failed and was sold to a pair of young Spaniards, who opened Essence a-Go-Go, which is struggling badly six weeks after opening.

Erotica’s owners turned back the keys to Chili during the pandemic and worked out with Nana Plaza’s owners a switch of location to the ground floor. The top-floor spot briefly was turned in to the awful Taxi go-go bar by major Nana tenant Tee before being acquired and refitted as Tycoon more than a year ago.

Nana’s Youth Movement

Like the under-35 Spaniards and the pair of young Frenchmen who purchased Rainbow 69, Erotica’s new boss, at 33, brings even more fresh eyes and ideas on Nana Plaza, a complex dominated by middle-aged (or older) bar owners.

That can be nothing but good news for Nana fans. Youth will infuse the Plaza with innovation and excitement that often gives way to the “same-same” routine business model by folsk who’ve been at it for decades.

Of course, running a go-go bar isn’t child’s play. The Spanish boys are finding the cash-flow demands tough while the French duo are still evaluating their bar and planning what to do with it. With Erotica sold, we’ll see how the Japanese do it.