As the saying goes, sex sells — but it also brings people together, and not just literally. Retailers throughout Central Florida and Tampa Bay have been providing LGBTQ+ safe spaces for decades.
Fairvilla is one of the most prolific. Originally launched in 1971 as a twin cinema but reimagined to become Fairvilla Adult Video 20 years later, it’s been an evolving Orlando staple ever since. The space is now their flagship Fairvilla Megastore, the largest of seven locations offering thousands of adult products.
Fairvilla’s brands now include Fairvilla Sexy Things, smaller versions of the store with locations in Orlando, Key West, Kissimmee and East Palatka, as well as Fairvilla Boutique. These stylized shops celebrate intimacy and wellness in Cape Canaveral and Sanford.
The growth is a testament to owners Bill and Shari Murphy. Fairvilla’s website notes they “nurtured a vision to create more stores that welcomed everyone, no matter their gender, race, sexual orientation or identity,” something Director of Procurement & Marketing Debra Peterson reiterates.
“We want anybody who walks into one of our stores, no matter where they’re coming from, whatever the demographic, we want them to walk out feeling like they got good information, they had a good time and they got what they needed,” she explains. “They’re going to go away with a very good sense of self and what they purchased.”
Fairvilla cultivated a training division for that purpose called Fairvilla University. It provides virtual and in-person “edutainment” courses for its staff and the public.
“I think it’s separated us from other chain stores and from the internet,” Peterson says. “Because that one-on-one personal experience, you’re not going to necessarily get that by looking on Instagram or shopping on a website. We have one and have a loyal following that uses it, but we love to be present and we love our physical stores.”
Each staff member undergoes extensive training before assisting customers. Purchaser and Certified Sex Educator Amber Baxter says that includes not only product knowledge but how to discuss LGBTQ+ care, gender affirmation and other inclusive practices.
“The staff goes through a lot of training about how to meet people where they are, no matter who they are, so that we can have those comfortable conversations,” they say. “It really helps people and lives our motto to ‘feel good about feeling good.”
“Our training is also ongoing,” adds Ken Dillon, Fairvilla’s graphic designer and social media specialist. “If a new product comes in, we get the rundown from the brands about how to discuss it, how it can be used and how to talk to our customers.”
Those customers range “from the newest person just turning 18 to the most experienced person in the world who just wants to see what’s out there now and from the gayest gay to the straightest straight,” Dillon says.
“Pretty much everyone has sex,” he continues. “Pretty much everyone needs something to have sex with, whether that be a toy, resource or lube, and so we carry it.”
Tampa Bay entrepreneur David Fischer understands that as well. In 2022 he opened The Back Room by ZaZoo’d after launching his speakeasy The Saint and LGBTQ+-focused bar Cocktail in St. Petersburg, both of which share a building with his Mari Jean Hotel and The Wet Spot Pool Bar and Day Club.
“After the success of The Saint and Cocktail, we decided that the idea of a gay resort was a viable business possibility in St. Pete,” he says. “With that in mind, I started looking at design for the remaining space in the building and how to best use the space to make it a viable business.”
Fischer — who also owns Tampa Bay’s interior design firm and retail store ZaZoo’d — says guests also advised “there was a need for more variety on men’s clothing, so the idea started to take shape.” The Back Room was a natural fit.
“There was a great response from day one,” Fischer says. “We immediately started getting recommendations for items our customers felt were missing in St. Pete.”
He also visited Fort Lauderdale and its wide array of LGBTQ+-focused shops for inspiration.
“I noted brands they were buying and categories that were selling and started there,” he says. “Then immediately when we opened the customers have helped shape the inventory by letting us know what they want.”
Popular items include apparel from brands like Andrew Christian, Addicted, ES, Cell Block 13 and merchandise amplifying Fischer’s other businesses, most of which intentionally lean into sexual innuendo. He’s previously told Watermark that his endeavors are designed to be humorous and have been successful, in part, because they’re “not shy about being a little cheeky or a little sexual.”
Fischer says The Back Room is another extension of that and “a great place for the LGBTQ+ community to find clothes and clothing brands that you typically only find in larger cities with very large gay populations.”
The store is also somewhere that customers can be themselves, much like Fairvilla.
Peterson says their popular items range from similar suppliers, all of which are used to cultivate an inclusive environment through marketing and more. She notes that each of their stores “try to be all encompassing and we don’t apologize for who we are.”
“Our stores are definitely a safe space,” Dillon stresses. “So if you’re curious, if you’re looking for a product, if you just need someone to talk to you about exploring sexuality, our staff is there.”
Fairvilla Megastore is located at 1740 N. Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando. Learn more about the space and its other locations at Fairvilla.com.
For more information about The Back Room by ZaZoo’d, located at 2355 Central Ave. in St. Petersburg, visit CocktailStPete.com.
