Alexandra's Massage Sauna & Strip Club in Rotorua. Photo / Supplied
Alexandra's Massage Sauna & Strip Club in Rotorua. Photo / Supplied
It has been another busy and interesting year in our region. We revisit some of our most popular premium stories from 2022. Originally published on June 24.
For thousands, a good night out in Rotorua often ended with a drink or two at Alexandra’s Massage Sauna & Strip Club. Tomorrownight its doors will close for the final time. Reporter Kelly Makiha talks to owner Alex Munro about 28 years of successful business and why “Alex’s” was more than just a strip joint and massage parlour.
It's an emotional week for Alex Munro but get her talking about her beloved club and she rattles off story after story of good times.
But after tomorrow, 28 years of business in Rotorua will come to an end after she's being forced to close after her building sold.
It's been a tough few years since the pandemic struck but Alexandra's Massage Sauna & Strip Club on Pukuatua St was keeping its head above water.
Now the owner-operator is looking for other challenges while reflecting on nearly three decades of running what she's proud to say was a top-notch establishment in what is a "taboo" industry.
Alex's, as the bar has affectionately been known over the years, has always been the last bar to close in Rotorua.
Before alcohol law reforms in 2013, Alex's had a 24-hour liquor licence. Since then it's changed to 4am closing.
In its heyday, it would be heaving with customers and queues at the door as other nightclubs closed and patrons headed to Alex's to finish the night off.
There were strippers and other sex industry services offered in private rooms, but Munro said for most of the customers it was just a fun place to go.
Alex Munro from Alexandra's Massage Sauna & Strip Club in Rotorua. Photo / Supplied
Munro, who is in her early 60s, has never been a stripper or sex worker herself but it was just her goal to provide somewhere safe for the women to work.
"People have a concept of a strip club or a massage parlour but their perception is not right."
Munro smiles with pride when she thinks of the tight ship she's run. She "loathes drugs", there have been no scandals, no bar brawls and no big police busts.
"I've never had a black mark against my name and I'm really proud of that."
She's also proud of the fact that she was believed to be one of the first female strip club owners in New Zealand in what was historically a "man's world" running such bars.
Then, of course, there's pride in knowing she's survived running a business in Rotorua's central city while other businesses have come and gone during various economic crises and downturns.
As far as a strip club and massage parlour go, Alexandra's was the "last man standing".
If she wrote a book, it could be a bestseller. She's seen it all and met them all - including famous actors, top sportspeople and business executives.
But she's too professional to let slip the business' clientele over the years - despite the Rotorua Daily Post's requests.
Her "girls," as she called them, included strippers and sex workers, and had always been her top priority, she said.
She was introduced to the business having managed massage parlour Bobby's in Rotorua for years.
The owner of that establishment taught her everything about the industry and her drive to succeed soon saw her open her own business.
But it wasn't just going to be a massage parlour. She wanted to offer a complimentary drink to clients but learned she needed a liquor licence - before long the dream extended to a bar and full strip club.
"Everyone thought I was crazy and said Rotorua was too conservative for a strip club.'"
She tried to count how many women she's employed over the years. At one point she had 30 dancers alone - so the guess ended at hundreds, possibly more than a thousand.
"A lot of them came from backgrounds where they had issues. Either abusive boyfriends and husbands or had been abused ... I would tell them this was their one time they could dress up, act and pretend to be whoever they wanted to be."
But it was more than just providing a job for the women, she said.
"I would teach them about finances, budgeting and basically standing on their own two feet and not having to rely on a man."
There have been strippers who have gone on to own their own international chain stores, have become lawyers or had opened their own strip clubs.
The heydays were from the mid-1990s through to 2015 and it was open seven days a week, as opposed to just Friday and Saturday nowadays.
There were Tuesday karaoke nights, hospitality nights (including competitions when staff from different bars would compete) and Alexandra's own choreographed cabaret show complete with a cast of singers and dancers.
But Munro and the business took a personal hit in 2012 following the sudden death of her long-time partner, Ray Channing.
The prominent local stockcar driver was killed in a crash at the Huntly Speedway, sending shockwaves throughout Rotorua and Alexandra's "family".
Munro said she and Channing were an awesome team. He was her "pillar of strength" and the funniest man she'd ever met.
It took a long time before she could go back into the premises to carry on without him.
Alexandra's owner Alex Munro and her daughter Teri Munro, who was a long-time bar manager at the club. Photo / Supplied
Her daughter, Teri Munro, was a long-time bar manager at the club and spoke with pride about her mum. She said the people "coming out of the woodwork" since finding out Alex's was closing was a testament to the business she had run.
"She would probably be one of the longest-standing female business owners in Rotorua... She has been a mentor to people and women have gone on to do great things because of her."
Meanwhile, as Munro thinks ahead to her final closing time, she was expecting a busy weekend as locals came to farewell Alex's.
While she'll miss the humour and the girls, she is content in knowing it's been a job well done.
“I always wanted to make sure we were doing the right thing by the girls. We were safe and people had a good time.”
