‘It’s going to be bigger and better’: Club One under new ownership, set to expand

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Savannah’s Club One has grown massively since it first opened in 1988, and now, under new ownership, it is set to become even bigger.

Featuring weekly drag shows and live events, Club One is perhaps best known for featuring the Lady Chablis, and rose to fame partially due to Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

Now, under new ownership, the iconic Savannah nightclub has plans to improve and expand.

For more than 35 years, it’s provided a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community, and everyone, opening in a time where gay people didn’t have much support.

“A lot of our customers’ parents, their families, threw them out because they were gay. There were not many support groups at all, or any support groups...we were like the gay tabernacle, per se,” said Cale Robert Hall, one of the partners of the club.

It’s undergone a lot of changes since then. Mark Fountain started the club in July 1988.

“We were one floor, the ground level, and Club One has, the first decade and a half, had pretty much been an ongoing building project,” Fountain said.

The most recent change is new ownership. Club One was recently acquired by Pride Holdings Group, a holdings company owning subsidiaries focused on spaces serving the LGBTQ+ community.

Soon, the iconic space will be undergoing an expansion.

“It’s much needed...they’re going to preserve the legacy of the club and how we’ll be able to take that inclusiveness into the future,” Hall said.

Hall was introduced to Club One when he was delivering beer one day, he met Fountain at the club, now all these years later, he’s one of the Club’s Partners.

“And the rest is history,” Hall said

Part of why Club One is so beloved and well known, is its ties to the book and movie “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” featuring Lady Chablis.

“She was the first entertainer to open the club,” Hall said.

Chablis paved the way for female impersonation in Savannah.

“Chablis had a spunk and an energy that is hardly replicable,” Hall said.

The club’s partners emphasize that this planned expansion, and new ownership isn’t here to erase any of the club’s history.

“What makes Club One Club One, apart from the customers, is our programming. Our burlesque shows, our cabaret shows, our comedy shows, our theater shows. Those are all here to stay,” explained partner, Travis Coles.

Instead, it’ll give it more room to grow.

“Our theatrical space is going to have better sound, better lighting, better stage space, better stage presence,” Coles continued.

While most details about what this expansion will entail are hush-hush for now, the club is hosting a party on January 15th to roll out the plans for the future of Club One.

“It’s going to be bigger and better,” said Hall.