Frustrated that the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) looked likely to approve a license for Mynt Gentleman’s Club on NE 33rd and Sandy, Laurelhurst Neighborhood Association Chair Eric Fruits went digging. And, oh man, he struck some dirt.

Seeing that Mynt co-owner Tracy Doss listed on the OLCC’s individual history form that he had previously held a liquor license for a bar in Ohio, Fruits got in contact with the Ohio liquor commission. According to their records, Doss owned or managed not just one bar in Ohio, but four. One of the places, called B.K. Flyers, had a bizarre and sordid history while Doss was its owner.

The Columbus Dispatch wrote this about the bar in 1995:

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Bears versus drunken college students? A January 12, 1995 article in the Columbus Dispatch spells out how the bear vs. man bar battles would go down. The bear’s name, by the way, was Ceasar:

Each night, hundreds paid a $ 3 cover charge to watch the bear wrestle challengers who paid $ 10 for the chance to win $ 1,000 from Ceasar’s owners – World Animal Studios of Columbia Station, Ohio – if they were strong enough to pin the bear.

Since then, the 12-year-old bear, which stands 7 feet, 6 inches and weighs about 900 pounds, has returned to town periodically.

RAWWWRRR! (this not an actual photo of BK Flyers or Ceaser T. Bear)
  • RAWWWRRR! (this not an actual photo of BK Flyers or Ceaser T. Bear)

All the uproar over the bear wrestling led the Columbus City Council to move to ban kangaroo boxing and bear wrestling within city limits. Doss says he has “no comment” on the application or the bear wrestling of yesteryear.

Perhaps fearing Doss would bring bear wrestling into our midst, or just realizing OLCC staff should probably have found out about the a bar owner’s mixed history on their own, the OLCC commission voted this morning to postpone their decision on providing a license to Mynt until their February meeting. “That’s the best result I could have expected,” says Fruits.

Sarah Shay Mirk reported on transportation, sex and gender issues, and politics at the Mercury from 2008-2013. They have gone on to make many things, including countless comics and several books.

34 replies on “Mynt Strip Club Owner—Former Bar in Ohio Hosted Brutal Man Vs. Bear Wrestling”

  2. Eric Fruits: Once again doing the job that local journalists won’t do. On the other hand, you guys printed this and I’m mentioning it on my blog so I guess…
    Matt, where’s your phone number again? I want to call you so I can set up a Matt versus Bear extravaganza.
    Love,
    Victoria

  3. ok.
    1. Strippers
    2. Bear Wrestling
    3. Notorious location known for rowdy behavior
    4. Walking distance from quiet Lhurst neighborhood
    5. Booze

    What is not to like?

  6. I feel more outrage over how they have bastardized the spelling of “mint”. Why the y?

    And is bear rasslin’ in bars legal in Portland? What about kangaroo boxing? And, er, how is this relevant to the OLCC decision?

  8. Pork Chop,

    Truth be told, I was originally interested in this story purely because I learned that Doss also managed Spyce strip club downtown. He’s got a thing for Y’s.

    While it’s worthwhile purely for its hilarious elements, the bear rasslin’ background is relevant b/c Doss did not list the bar or its violations on his individual history form, as the OLCC requires.

  15. bd,

    thanks to the link to that Oregon law… mostly because it includes this horrifying line that I’m glad exists:
    “167.390 Commerce in fur of domestic cats and dogs prohibited”

  16. Absolutely. That’s a fun thing about state law: the level of minutia contained within our laws is staggering. So if someone wants to wrestle a bear or punch a kangaroo, then they’ll probably run afoul of animal cruelty laws.

  18. So…the OLCC doesn’t usually do out-of-state background checks for applicants?

    That said, shouldn’t the applicant’s record in Oregon matter most? If Doss has alreay proven himself with other y-tastic establishments in our city, denying his application over a 15-year-old smudge seems a little alarmist. Did his last strip club feature animal cruelty?

    Of course I don’t approve of bear wrestling or donkey punching or anything of the sort.

  22. @Baltar – They couldn’t trademark SciFi, because it’s a genre, like “nonfiction!” Anyone could sell DVDs or T-shirts that said “SciFi” on them. Gosh, am I the only nerd who gets it?

  29. poor bear…
    im pretty sure the animal lovers of this city would shut down any show that directly benefited from violence against a confused bear.

  30. @Matthew – I don’t think I’ll work this one into the story, but I have a true story about boxing in bars that might be worth posting later.

    @Pandaprincess – Except it’s on Lombard. Not that I would know anything about such things.

  31. A lot of you speculate and make accusations based on information you dont know to be true. Fruits conveniently says “bars doss owned OR managed. Ever stop to think doss wasnt the owner of the bear-wrestling bar and didnt call all the shots? Check out HIS bar Spyce Gentlemans Club and see what its really like. I work there because i choose to work in a clean, safe, professional environment. I love the owners and the entire staff. I cant wait for the new club to open! Jez

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