With an ambiguous name like “Comfort Zone” and most of its windows covered up, the brightly colored shop on Route 1 north of the campus doesn’t arouse much interest.
But after a peek inside, it’s another story. Costumes and lingerie line one wall, while everything from dildos and vibrators to handcuffs and other restraints grace the two remaining sides. And there’s plenty of lube.
Though Comfort Zone’s co-owner Robert Carl said he obtained his business license in February, most students said they didn’t notice the new storefront until this semester, but that it’s certainly unique in College Park.
Manning a store that sells “novelty items,” sexy costumes and pornography can sometimes be a stressful job because of concerned residents and county laws, Carl said. He added it made good business sense to fill the void in the market, and that contrary to first impressions, the county doesn’t classify his shop as an adult store or sex shop.
“I was trying to service the niche a little better than what was being done,” Carl said. “A lot of [stores] are corporate-owned, so they can’t directly service their immediate client base, and a lot of them have extremely high mark-ups on their merchandise. Also, they don’t change their inventory very often, which I find amazing. You find the same old products still collecting dust.”
Stores stamped with the label of “adult” have to abide by strict laws preventing them from opening within 1,000 feet of a residential area or in places not zoned for industrial use, as of a 2009 county ruling. Windows have to be covered up and advertising is limited to one sign. But since Comfort Zone isn’t bound by the county regulations that apply to sex shops, the 18-year-old age entrance requirement and partially blocked windows are, in part, voluntary measures to keep the place tasteful, Carl said.
The top floor is brightly lit and spacious, and although there’s a definite theme to the merchandise, Carl said things like stockings, vibrating rubber duckies and glass dildos are “novelty items” that can be found in Spencer’s or Victoria’s Secret. But unlike Spencer’s and Victoria’s Secret, the selection of sexual toys and gag gifts is the main attraction at Comfort Zone.
“Explicit” material like pornographic DVDs and realistic dildos make up less than 10 percent of the store’s merchandise and floor space, however, and are kept out of sight on a basement floor. Displaying more than 10 percent of such content would make the shop legally an “adult store.” A large selection of comic books and family DVDs available on the bottom floor also helps keep the adult content ratio in check.
Though some people are wary of a store selling sex-related materials, most students are either indifferent or supportive of establishments where sex sells.
“Even if you don’t like it, sex happens all the time and students will find a way to get this type of stuff,” said senior microbiology major Kang Zheng, but added he hasn’t stopped by the store and doesn’t think many students would travel out of their way to get to it.
Other students have been inside the establishment and think having a place that sells sex toys in the community is a welcome addition.
“When you’re supporting a local shop that sells sex toys, you’re supporting a local business as opposed to the large corporations which you often deal with when buying online,” said Josef Parker, a senior American studies major and a member of Pride Alliance, which sponsored an event last year where a co-owner of the sex shop Sugar made a presentation on the campus to students that included information about safe sex and safe materials for toys.
There are some shops in surrounding areas that are more blatantly adult-themed, like Wholesale Lingerie & Gift Center in Beltsville, which is a few miles from the establishment.
Wholesale Lingerie has come under fire from the Maryland Coalition Against Pornography for containing “viewing booths” where clients can watch pornographic movies and possibly engage in other sexual behavior, and Carl said he didn’t want to be associated with that business.
Students also recognize that some shops can serve their communities better than others.
Aliya Mann, a member of Feminists for Sexual Health (formerly called Terps for Choice) said she has never visited Comfort Zone but recognizes there is a range when it comes to establishments selling some of the same wares.
“The shop could potentially be a good thing because it promotes sex positivity, the idea that people are sexual and have varied sexual interests, and that that’s not a bad thing,” said Mann. “But it needs to be an inclusive place for people of all genders and sexual interests, and a safe space where people feel comfortable,” she added. “There are definitely skeezy places, and then there’s really feminist, sex-positive places.”
Carl said most of his clients are couples or professionals, though he has seen the occasional student, and while he said he tries to keep the store “as far away from creepy as possible,” he said it’s still up to each student to decide whether they think Comfort Zone is a good addition to the community.
“I would say it’s up to each individual to set their own moral compass and what they feel comfortable with,” Carl said.
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