The granddaddy of Atlanta's adult stores sells its last unmentionable

By Christian Boone

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The limp economy will accomplish what many a vice agent could not, shuttering the city's most iconic adult entertainment emporium after 44 years.

The owner of the Poster Hut, where many Atlantans of a certain age bought their first suggestive bumper sticker, bong, fake piece of vomit, or adult, uh, euphemism, blamed the store's demise on his failure to keep up with the rent -- and the times.

"Maybe if we had a website we could have survived," said Mike Abbott, who bought the store four years ago, just before the financial meltdown. "I had a guy who's been saying for four years he was going to do it but he never did."

Alas, the Poster Hut, located smack dab in the middle of Atlanta's most notorious addresses on Cheshire Bridge Road, was never able to advertise its recent designation as a "great place to buy underwear," according to a blog dedicated to men's undergarments.

Abbott was given his final eviction notice last week, leaving him little time to advertise a going-out-of-business sale.  But word has spread throughout the day, attracting "a lot of people in their 40s who were teenagers when they first came here," said Abbott, who remembers his first time fondly.

"I had heard Alicia Bridges (of "I Love the Nightlife" fame) was working here and, sure enough, there she was behind the counter," said the native Atlantan, now 51. Bridges was perfectly pleasant, Abbott recalled, which bears notice since the disco star's stint as a store clerk came well after she topped the music charts.

The Poster Hut will close for good Thursday at 9:30 p.m., though Abbott said "I don't ever turn anyone away."

Better hurry -- the double entendres are going fast.