PEPPY'S: A CLUB WHOSE MOTTO IS `WE'LL TRY ANYTHING'

It's listed as Peppy's Sports Bar in the Cape Girardeau phone book, but that's a little misleading.

Peppy's is not the place for "Monday Night Football." In fact, the combination country/pop music dance club isn't even open on Monday nights.

Drawing nearly 700 people on a good Saturday night, Peppy's tries to offer a little something for everybody. Since the club opened April 15, Peppy's owner C. Dewayne Casey and general manager Doug Armour, both of Poplar Bluff, have tried to stretch the bounds of what they can offer.

"We're not scared a bit," Armour said. "We'll try anything."

The latest stretch for the club is the presentation of a female strip show called "Centerfolds" tonight.

"We were kind of leery about bringing something like this in," Armour said. "We saw what kind of problems Regina's House of Dolls had and we didn't want to make the city mad at us.

"But we had so many people asking us about it we thought we'd try it. It's a once-a-year type of thing."

Peppy's has received calls from every corner of the community about the strippers. The police have been vigorously checking to make sure the show meets the city's requirements.

Armour, who is a second cousin of Rush Limbaugh's, said he is far less conservative than his famous relative and doesn't mind the controversy that the strip show is generating.

The front of the 20,000-square-foot warehouse on South Kingshighway, which once housed beer distributors, is the country dance bar. This is where the boot-and-Stetson crowd gathers to line dance and listen to the sounds of Deana Carter, Trace Adkins, David Allen Coe and Alan Jackson.

Already those crowds have been treated to live performances by Adkins and Coe. Tuesday night, Carter makes a stop at Peppy's for a concert. (See related story.)

Farther back in the spacious building is the popular music dance club -- where Peppy's attracts the majority of its patrons. Here the two main dance floors, swirling lights and driving rhythms generate a mood of energy.

While the club would seem to cater to a younger crowd, even allowing 18-year-olds in with identification to dance without drinking, Armour said the average age of Peppy's patrons is about 33 years old.

But Peppy's isn't simply a dance club. The bar offers a wide selection of beers, including the increasingly popular micro-brewery beers.

The bar also has 10 pool tables and four dart boards for those who prefer a less aerobic form of entertainment.

"We've found that this type of club is very popular," Armour said. "We carry just about everything for everybody."

Over the next three months, Armour and Casey plan to expand the already expansive Peppy's to include a blues bar featuring live entertainment. They also will be expanding the Peppy's concept to other areas. As it is now, Peppy's in Cape Girardeau is one of a kind.