Once upon a time, Michael Precker was a reporter for the Dallas Morning News, where he worked for 24 years. Then, in 2006, he took a buyout and went to work for a topless bar called The Lodge. The Wall Street Journal took notice of the career change. We slotted him at No. 66 on the list of 119 things we love about Dallas. Precker’s business card identified him as “writer in residence,” but he did everything from ads to social media to writing speeches to proofing the Saturday night dinner specials menu.
Well, now he no longer works at The Lodge. For a while now, owner Dawn Rizos has been withdrawn from day-to-day operations. Her ex-husband, Nick Rizos, has taken over the operation. It was Nick who, a little over a week ago, told Precker that his services were no longer needed.
For years, Nick has been running the Greek restaurant Stratos, not far from The Lodge. Since Nick assumed control of the topless bar he founded, things have changed there. Precker puts it this way: “If you’re an early Woody Allen fan, it’s like Bananas. El Commandante leads the revolution for the people and the underclass and all that. And then he wins the revolution and he gets up on the steps of the assembly and he says, ‘From now on, everyone will wear their underwear on the outside! And from now on, the official language will be Swedish!’ It’s been a little bit like that.”
Precker added, “I have nothing bad to say about the The Lodge. It’s a great place, with a lot of great people. If you’re looking for a disgruntled former employee, that’s not what PR people do.”
Now he says he’s looking for his next career transition. He admits it’ll be tough to top the last one. You can find him in Facebook.
