Big Al’s plans to reopen this month in Downtown Peoria.
Following nearly two years of closure, the strip club is scheduled to reopen under new management, new rules and new hours.
Ty Seibert, who is now running the business, told the Journal Star the club will operate Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m., starting May 21.
“At the end of the day, I just want nice people to come out, have a couple drinks and go home,” Seibert said of the reopening. “That’s all I am looking for is just nice people who want to come out to it, have a good time.”
The capacity of Big Al’s will be “smaller and more intimate,” Seibert said. The club will only host up to 100 people for its bar and adult entertainment.
However, Seibert also plans to have country and rock concerts at Big Al’s. When there is a concert at the property, the space would expand and adult entertainment would not be happening at the same time, Seibert said. The cap for concerts would be between 1,000 to 1,500 people.
What’s in Big Al’s new plan of operation?
Big Al’s had its liquor license stripped in August of 2024 following a trio of violent events at the club, located on Jefferson Street. At the time, Peoria Mayor Rita Ali deemed the business unfit to serve alcohol.
The mayor dictated that Big Al’s would not be allowed to reopen unless owner Kenneth Kummerow divested from the business. Seibert later took over the club and worked with the city on a plan of operations amenable to both parties.
An agreement signed by the city and Seibert mandates: a 1 a.m. closing time, mandatory security sweeps of the parking lot, metal detectors and a much larger security camera presence on site.
A 15-point operation plan mostly addresses security concerns, primarily surrounding the quality, quantity and access to security cameras.
Security cameras became a focal point of concerns after a former Big Al’s manager was charged with obstructing justice following a shooting at the business. The manager, Renee Cipolla, had told police video footage of the shooting had been automatically deleted and couldn’t be given to investigators. That turned out to be untrue. She eventually pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to probation.
That incident, however, is why there is now an eight-point subplan, which spells out that recordings must be kept for at least 30 days and attainable and viewable at the request of any Peoria police officer.
Bright, white LED lights will also be required on the outside of the building to illuminate both the exterior and the parking lot.
“I think the plan of operation was, to me, stuff I was already going to do anyway, so I wouldn’t want to do anything here less than that anyway,” Seibert said. “I agreed to that without batting an eye at that because I think the city and us are on the same page on that.”
Mayor Ali told the Journal Star that the operations of the business will be “scrutinized” as it reopens.
“I expect he will abide by the plan of operation, but there’s different terms; it’s not a 4 o’clock, late-night operation right now and he is agreeable to everything we have asked for,” Ali said.
One thing returning customers will notice when they walk into the new Big Al’s is its weapons detection system, Seibert said. Different than a metal detector, Seibert said this weapons detection system was roughly a $100,000 investment and will go a long way in keeping weapons out of Big Al’s.
“It is state of the art, and I feel, actually the best in the business,” Seibert said.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Big Al’s to reopen in Downtown Peoria under new rules and new hours
Reporting by JJ Bullock, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
