Local adult novelties shop Taboo sold to Denver-based chain Romantix

The recent sale of local adult retailer Taboo included the property at 5100 Midlothian Turnpike, where the company’s South Richmond store is located. (Jack Jacobs photo)

Shortly after closing one of its Henrico stores, a local adult novelties chain has been acquired by an out-of-town company.

Taboo, which has operated locally for decades, was sold earlier this month to Denver-based Romantix. The deal was confirmed by Josh Porter, vice president of operations at Progressive Retail Management, the parent company of Romantix.

Included in the deal were Taboo’s retail locations at 6021 W. Broad St. in western Henrico and 5100 Midlothian Turnpike in South Richmond.

Romantix bought Taboo from Alison Miller, who had run the business for more than 20 years. Miller didn’t respond to messages seeking comment.

Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. The acquisition included the South Richmond location’s real estate, which has an assessed value of $482,000. The land sale was not reflected in city records as of this week, with the property still listed as being owned by Miller. Taboo leases its space in Henrico.

The acquisition of Taboo marks the entry of Romantix into Virginia. The company, which sells sex toys, lingerie and related items, is now up to 77 stores in 19 states following the purchase.

“Taboo had a really good foothold in the market, and the owner was looking to get out and we’re always looking to expand,” Porter said in an interview last week.

Romantix laid off all Taboo’s employees as part of the acquisition, a move that led to criticism and calls to boycott the business on social media in recent days. Porter said that Romantix is employee-owned, and as a result the company considers it easiest from an administrative standpoint to hire a new team when it acquires an existing company. He said former Taboo employees are able to reapply for their jobs.

“It’s just the cleanest way to do it and that’s how we handle things across the board. It allows us to bring people in with a fresh start,” he said.

Porter said the Taboo stores are currently open, and they are being run by a Romantix transition team.

Romantix, which opened its first store in California in the 1960s, plans to offer new products and rebrand the Taboo stores, along with renovating the locations.

Romantix’s acquisition followed the closing of Taboo’s store at 10607 Patterson Ave. in March.

The change in ownership marks a new chapter for Taboo. The long-running adult retailer was purchased by Miller in 2002. At the time it was called Taboo Lingerie, and Miller expanded its inventory to include sex toys and adult movies. She also added the now-closed Patterson Avenue store in 2013 following the opening of the South Richmond store earlier that year.

Miller, a VCU grad, relocated to California in 2019 but continued to own Taboo until this month.

The entry of Romantix into the local adult shop scene follows the 2023 expansion of national chain Hustler Hollywood into the area with a shop near the Science Museum of Virginia. A Taboo alum opened lingerie store Black Widow in Shockoe Slip last year.

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