I happened to be in Visalia as my work with Amazon landed me there. After I finished, I took the opportunity to see if there was anything to do in Visalia at night. There weren’t many options aside from ordinary bars. I ended up showing some interest in what seemed to be the only club in Visalia, Republik Lounge, so I went. Part of my interest too was that before Republik sat The Blitz, which was a gay club, so surely Republik had to have some semblance of the business before it, right? Already before I arrived, my first impressions of the place were already negative. They’re only open 2 times a week and open only at 9pm; they charge cover the moment they’re open (wtf?).
That already doesn’t fly with me, and shouldn’t fly with anyone that respects their wallet. For comparison, Fresno’s top dog night club, Splash (and its “competitor”) opens before 9pm, rewarding early goers to forgo cover charges. As soon as I got to the door, Republik Lounge made the decision to be hot garbage, before I walked in and was maybe even willing to pay cover to see this place for the first time. As I was in Visalia for work, I wore sweats (which is comfortable for me when doing Amazon deliveries). I wasn’t allowed in on that alone. Whatever, they had a chance to impress an out of town visitor and absolutely blew it. At least I was saved money.
