LOUISVILLE, Ky. — For six years, Richard Myers, the owner of Mattress Center, has made a living on Preston Highway giving people a good night's sleep. Next door, it was more late night entertainment.
"I just thought it was a spots club with TVs and a bar," Myers said.
Myers said when he first moved into his location, he did not know his neighbor, Trixie's, was a strip club, but he learned pretty fast.
"Early on, they used to have bikini car washes in the alley next door and they'd have girls waving at cars," he said. "It's not the most conducive thing for business, that's for sure."
So after Trixie's closed at the end of October and was put up for auction, Myers paid close attention. This Thursday, Louisville businessman Alem Nuguse purchased the former strip club for $522,509.
Nuguse spoke with WHAS11 over the phone Friday and said he bought the property with the goal of turning it into a center for Louisville's Ethiopian community. What exactly that will look like is still up in the air, with the possibility of a restaurant, a business center or even a learning center for children.
Nuguse said he will be meeting with community leaders this weekend to get their input on the best use for this space.
"That's going to be a really great addition to the neighborhood," Myers said. "It's going to really help out."
Another person keeping an eye on what will happen at the space is Councilwoman Nicole George, D.-District 21, who represents the area that includes the former Trixie's. George said she and several of her colleagues and other community and business leaders have been meeting for several months to discuss the needs of the Preston Highway corridor. The "Prosper Preston Group" has identified some issues to tackle, including pedestrian and motor safety, attracting development and tourism and eliminating vacant properties.
"Having a vacant commercial property is really a challenge for a community," George said. "So we're excited for the new property owner, excited to see what he's going to do."
George hopes the new center, whatever it ends up including, will be a step towards a revitalization of the Preston Highway corridor.
As for Myers, he's looking forward to a more family-friendly attraction.
"Those people need mattresses so that's not going to hurt us at all," he said.
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►Contact reporter Dennis Ting at dting@whas11.com. Follow him on Twitter (@DennisJTing) and Facebook.