JoAnn's Chili Bordello

MichaelFL


Although somewhat Hooter-esq, JoAnn's was different, not a sports bar, more of an old west bordello; velvet wallpaper, chandeliers, red carpet, etc.

Each location was different but kept true to the bordello theme. We outfitted the girls in lace corsets from Darling Lingerie which they wore over panties with garter belts and hose, but, of course, no see through ... well, not much see through!

I'm sorry I missed this. Sounds like a hoot (pun intended)!

TJK

TJK, another welcome to you! It will take about three days non stop to read the whole chili section here. Well worth tha trip though. Feel free to post on any old threads you like. Newbees get to do that. :~)
Joe

How many Jo Ann's were there?

http://www.jacksonville.com/news/metro/2009-03-17/story/joann_perschel_1950-2009_restauranteur_of_joanns_chili_bordello

Hmm, good question Mellow.

Jo Ann sounded like a nice lady.
Joe

I once had the pleasure of visiting the Manhattan Beach location of JoAnn's Chili Bordello.  A group of friends got together to celebrate a birthday of a member of the group.  Our visit must have been shortly after the restaurant opened because I remember the chili being served in a canteloupe rind.  I also recall the torso-shaped chocolate cake.

I hope Madame JoAnne succeeds in opening her own chili bordello soon.  I will be fun to go back to such an establishment.

I ate there as a young 17 year old with two buddies in J'ville.  The ladies sure made us feel special although we were scared of them.  The chilli was actually good (choice of beef , chicken or pork with good spice) and they did serve it in a half of a cantalope rind with the fruit scooped out  on the side to cool the heat of the chilli.  Ahh to be 17 again with a 43 years of experience.

I was just thinking about old times and looked up my old restaurants and was surprised to see it listed on the web.  I started these two restaurants in both Manhattan Beach and Port's a Call village in San Pedro with my Partner Bill Ross.  I picked the location and did all the design work, found all the furnishing, even found the nude statues to go in the bar.  I hire the staff, and managed both places.  The original idea was from a man names Leonard Doctors who had one in Jacksonville, Fla his girl friend was Joanne and served as the model for the picture in glass on the door.  Bill Ross talked me into going to Florida to look at what he had and we were the first to that he franchised.  I took his original idea and added the flocked Wallpaper, Crystal Chandelier, Nude Statues, the piano player, the wild bathrooms and more.  I enjoyed getting this started it was lots of fun and even designed the Fancy Dressing Room in the center of the Manhattan Beach location when it was brought to my attention that the girls had no where to change.  I don't know if anyone remembers but we also had a wall of old-time mail boxes from a Post-office that you could have you mail delivered care of Joann's Bordello Manhattan Beach, Ca.  We also got a lot of the LA Raiders in this location because it was near their training camp.  The Chili was great, we served it in a cantaloupe with the fruit on the side.  Does anyone remember Peppermint Patty?  She was one of the original girls, she was alway having wardrobe problems and would give out Peppermint Patties with the bill.  The TV show Real People came out and did a segment on us.  We had hope they would talk about the Chili but all they showed was the girls and the "Better than Sex Cake".  I just fun thinking about it again!  

Bill MacDonald

I had the pleasure of working at the original Jo Anns Chili Bordello as a bus boy in 1987-88..

as a 19 year old kid, I can't think of anywhere else I'd have rather worked

Hello everyone!  I went to JoAnn's many times in Ports O' Call Village, San Pedro, CA, and loved it!  My sister is the notorious Madame Joanne who played the piano, greeted the guests, sang baudy songs, and was the real Queen of the One-Liners!  Man, what great entertainment and WOW for the many handsome men who frequented the place!  We used to dance and sing along, especially when Madame Joanne led the house song, Show Me What Ya Got For Sale, and the "girls" sang the response as they were waiting on the tables!  What a wonderful time, of all the good memories I have in my lifetime, this experience tops the Chili!!! 

Hello there everyone!  This is Madame Joanne, once again shaking my feathers your way.  I had to change my e-mail address because of a virus (gasp, choke), but all I changed was the spelling from "madamejoanne" to "madamejoanna." 
   So much has happened with regard to JoAnn's Chili Bordello since my last communication.  My condolences upon the deaths of the Manager and the others who ran the store in Jacksonville, Florida.  Now that store is up for sale along with the whole copyright, etc.  I wish everyone well.
   Anyone out there who remembers our fun conversations from the past?  Well, hustle my bustle, let's talk!  hee hee hee

  Hey there, sister Barbara, thanks for the great comments.  I can still see you dancing around the room while I played the piano and quiped about the (imaginary) rooms upstairs.  You sure looked great in your corset my dear!  Hip, hip, HOORAY!

prattitude


I had the pleasure of working at the original Jo Anns Chili Bordello as a bus boy in 1987-88..

as a 19 year old kid, I can't think of anywhere else I'd have rather worked

I wonder if anyone has written "A History of the Breastaurant"?

A rezerection of a thread!
 
I was in San Pedro this past Sunday.  How was the weather?
 
If it's the chili you are missing, try Tub's:
 
http://www.tubschili.com/
 
Good stuff and not far from San Pedro.  45 minutes.

Hi Joanne!
My name is Sherry Chahla. I don't know if you remember me, but I was one of the girls that was in the filming of Real People, with Skip Stevenson, at your restaraunt "Joanns Chili Bordello"; my name at the time was Sherry Sluus (or Sherry Czerny - I'm not sure if I had changed my last name back to my maiden name at the time of the filming).
I wasn't a regular working girl there, but the boyfriend (Eddie Santiego) of the head waitress there had told me that she wanted to talk to me about doing the shoot there.
Would you happen to have a copy of the episode that was filmed there? 
The parents, of my boyfriend that I had at the time, recorded the show, but I haven't been able to get in touch with him to get a copy. The last I heard was that he moved from Jacksonville, Florida to Orlando, Florida and I have yet to find him. All I have is a menu with Skip Stevenson’s autograph on it. If you wouldn’t mind, I would like to get a copy from you or information on how I can obtain a copy of that ephisode; I would also like some copies of the pictures that you had offered on this thread.
 
I have the pictures that Burgermeister posted in his original post. When I saw them I was so elated that I had them downloaded to my computer from the links that he gave. Do you still need the pictures? I would gladly give you copies of them.
Sincerely,
Sherry Chahla
PS,
I was also supposed to be paid for the shoot? (I never did get paid, and I doubt that I could now - it was almost 30 years ago.) Who was supposed to pay me? Would you happen to know where I could find out if I can? Anything would help.
I will be happy to give you my email address if you would like. 

I am the niece of the creator of the original Joann's Chili Bordello. I can assure you that there was only one JoAnn. The franchisees that opened their desired location may have happened to have an employee/manager or even themselves been named JoAnn however, that was just coincidence.
If anyone has questions I would do my best to answer you as I had a large part in the planning and putting together the restaurant as well as worked there when needed to help out.
I do know that there are a lot of "debatable" comments on this blog and I would like to keep the information truthful in honor of my late uncle.

Dear God.

God had nothing to do with the Bordello Dr. L M..lol

 
JoAnn died on Friday 13th in 2009, along with my investment   The concept would have performed better during the 1970's -- rather than the 1980's and 1990's, IMHO. 
 
She and Leonard Doctors, the franchisors, proved that location is everything.  Almost every one of the stores failed in the first two years.  The seedy location on Atlantic Boulevard in Jacksonville, where the restaurant began, was a strip club -- before after she went out of business.
 
As for the recipes, come on. Really?  If you owned a franchise, like I did, you know that you had to buy the seasoning packs from Leonard and that you never were told the recipes. 
 
Oh, and the recipe for the hottest chili (always the last item on the menu) was actually called "Madame Hot Pants" and I DO know the recipe for that -- it was whatever was left over from the five or six flavors from the previous day, doused with cayenne pepper; so, it was really never the same each time you had it.