Business Notes Entertainment

Back in the days when men drank dry martinis and smoked unfiltered cigarettes with abandon, ogling the scantily clad, buxom Bunnies at the Playboy Club was a popular pastime. Times have changed. Playboy last week announced that when its flagship New York City club reopens in November, the employees will include male waiters, dubbed Rabbits. In an effort to lure female patrons, the ! company (fiscal 1985 sales: $192 million) hopes to hire "attractive and athletically built" men. Company officials refuse to say how the Rabbits will be dressed but insist that they will keep their pants on. Among the current applicants are an Ivy League student and a ventriloquist. At the same time, some of the club's Bunnies will don less revealing garb. About half will be outfitted in sequined gowns or dresses, while the others will continue to sport the unmistakable cottontails and ears.

The changes come as Playboy attempts to revive a beleaguered business. Today there are only a dozen Playboy clubs, down from 22 in the mid-1960s. The clubs prosper mainly in smaller towns, including Buffalo and Des Moines, where martinis and ogling are still in style.