Brothel Hopes to Entice With Fitness Center, Gift Shop

A Nevada brothel is cooking up some newfangled reasons for taking part in the world’s oldest profession.

The Kit Kat Ranch east of Carson City wants to expand into a Western-themed entertainment center, with a gift shop, sports bar, microbrewery, tanning salon and fitness center.

Owners Burton Stanley and Frank Leonardi are proposing a 28,000-square-foot center with parking for tour buses.

Surrounding buildings would have Western store fronts, awnings, boardwalks and signs.

Stanley and Leonardi, who bought the brothel last summer, did not immediately return telephone calls to comment on the project.

“They are looking to capitalize on the tourist industry,” Lyon County Planning Commissioner George Mortensen said Wednesday. “People want to see what a Nevada brothel looks like.

“They want to say they’ve been there but don’t necessarily have to use the services. But they will go to the gift shop and say, ‘Yes, I’ve been there.’ ”

The Kit Kat development would mark a significant change in the way Nevada brothels do business. Most owners keep a low profile and avoid attention.

“They are concerned about the expansion of the brothel industry,” said Chuck Roberts, the chairman of the Mound House Advisory Council. “Historically, the brothels have been somewhat quiet, with everybody out here going about their business. There is no sentiment to close the brothels, but they are intolerant of expansion, especially in this manner.”

The project would expand the Kit Kat from a brothel on a 1.6 acres to a 12.4-acre park.