The scene at Cash Inn Country (known to regulars as just "the Cash Inn") on a Saturday night can be pretty chaotic. The Valley's oldest lesbian bar always seems packed with hundreds of women of every variety, doing everything from line dancing to singing "You've Lost that Loving Feeling" on the patio.
And running around amidst the throng -- emptying ashtrays, guarding the back door, cracking jokes by the DJ booth -- is Amy Gore, who's been working security at The Cash Inn for the past four years. By day, Gore (who says she's a "slightly far away" relation to Al Gore) is a pharmacy technician. By night, the Georgia transplant is a friendly but efficient bouncer who took time to chat with us during her smoke break on the Cash Inn patio.
Celebrity She'd Like to Let In:
When I lived in Savannah, we had Julia Roberts, Robert Redford, and John
Cusack in the clubs when they were working on movies. I met them, but
it's not really that exciting, because they have such a bubble around
them. So I think someone with more local celebrity would be fun, like
Diana Taurasi or somebody that everybody's really stoked on. Ellen would
be fun. And I think she would actually reach out and mingle.
(laughs) Which one? We have a lot of bachelorette parties here. That seems to be really big, the girls' last night out on the town. They get all of their friends to come down and be in a gay club, and because there's a diverse crowd in here, it makes it very entertaining. And they've also gone bar hopping, so it's always an interesting night when they get here.
Best Part of the Job:
It's a very diverse crowd. You've got a lot of your regulars, but it's changing a lot. It used to be more of a "regular" bar, and now, we've got people coming from everywhere. So it's a lot of fun. Some people dress inappropriately and act inappropriately, and you get to make fun of them and go from there.
What's on the Belt Loop:
Nothing. We keep two or three security people, and also one at the door. So we have people in all locations, and we can watch the dance floor and break up any fights. But we don't have too many fights here.
Spare Time:
I used to frequent all the bars, but now I've gotten away from that. When you work in the business, being in a bar isn't as appealing. Especially when you see the drunks from the sober side. I enjoy the nice, quiet side of life -- movies, concerts, hanging out at home.
How to Handle a Problematic Patron:
We try to at least tag team, and get a couple security people involved. We try to get them outside as non-confrontationally as possible. It doesn't always work out that way, but usually, we can maintain them. A lot of people know each other here, so a lot of their friends are very good about keeping an eye on them.