UPDATE: Look up to the second-floor window of 256 Bank St and you will see a sign letting people know One in Ten is
moving there Feb 1. That’s two months ahead of the original schedule.
Owner Tom Ramsey says his decision for a fast move came when he knew he could take possession of the new location. The perks will be lower rent and greater privacy. He also hopes to attract customers of the previous tenants, Dare to Be Naughty and Rixx Video.
Also, Ramsey wants to offer customers a more comfortable climate in his movie room. At his current location, his backroom has seen temperatures as low as -5°C. The problem has been reduced using space heaters. Over the last few years, he and his current landlord have discussed the heating many times. Nothing has been done. He says he is thankful his customers remained loyal despite these problems.
“The new system has a HVAC system, central air circulation. There will be no more problems with environmental heating or cooling. Everything is brand new from floor to ceiling,” says Ramsey.
One in Ten will have three neighbours: an Asian massage studio, a tailor and Scotties Spot, a head shop and novelty store. Scott Wright, Scotties Spot owner, is a One in Ten part-time employee. Along with Ramsey and his crew, Wright has been working hard to renovate the store for when it opens next month.
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After 13 years, One in Ten owner Tom Ramsey is packing up and moving to another location. But Ramsey feels he will be successful in the new location because he is going somewhere porn aficionados already know. The suite is no stranger to porn shops: Dare to be Naughty and Rixxx Video were its previous tenants. In a hidden space on the second level, the new spot will be at 256 Bank St (at Cooper), two blocks south of its current location. He says the new location will offer customers privacy.
“We’ve established ourselves as a reputable business, and I want something more private for customers. We get a lot of people calling asking, ‘Do you have a back door?’ The new location is not so in-your-face at the street level. When you walk out my door, people know you’ve been at One in Ten. At the new place, people are walking into a complex with a few other things. When you walk out of there, someone seeing you could think you were at a tailor’s or something else,” says Ramsey.
For the last few years, Ramsey says, the heating system has not functioned properly. He says this will change with the new location: he takes possession immediately and he will renovate everything to make sure all utilities are updated. He is hoping to have a grand opening on April 1st, 2011.
“The property is in the process of being gutted. And a backroom movie theatre is for sure going in. I also hope to get the customers who frequented [Dare to be Naughty],” says Ramsey, adding that another perk is a drastic rent reduction at the new location, which is owned by the same landlord as Wilde’s.
Glenn Crawford, chair of The Village Committee, says One in Ten’s new location will not change the gay district boundaries of Nepean to James on Bank St.
“I feel that things as they stand still makes sense. Firstly, with stores like Stroked Ego and the Vitality Cookware Centre — who are both very supportive of the Village and are in the northernmost block of the Village area as it’s defined now — I think shrinking the area would unnecessarily exclude them. Secondly, with One in Ten staying within the Village boundaries, nothing really is changing, and hopefully Tom will have a more accommodating landlord,” says Crawford.
Visit One in Ten at 216 Bank St at Nepean or call 613-563-0110.
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