Federal Court Settlement Keeps Tight Rules On Kahoots Strip Club
samsung1
Ohio
EAST HARTFORD —
The town on Tuesday successfully distanced itself from a type of entertainment venue that would like to bring customers a little closer.
A federal court settlement has mandated that Kahoots, East Hartford's only strip club, comply with most parts of a town ordinance that, among other things, prevents entertainers from physically taking tips and outlaws physical contact with customers.
When the ordinance was adopted in 2008, there were two adult venues in town and two more trying to open. The strict regulations, requiring background checks of employees and 24-hour surveillance to ensure compliance, made it too difficult for new clubs to open and harder for existing ones to continue operating, town officials said. Eventually, that left only Kahoots, at 639 Main St.
The club filed two lawsuits against the town, one challenging the constitutionality of the ordinance, the other lobbying to be allowed to expand to a second location on Pitkin Street. In the settlement agreement between the club's and the town's lawyers, Kahoots will have to comply with all but a few of the requirements in the ordinance — mostly those related to the physical structure of the existing club — and will not open a second club.
Inside the club, the ban on physical contact will mean no lap dances and no slipping bills into dancers' clothing. Tips will have to be collected in a jar. Nudity is also banned, which will not directly affect Kahoots, where entertainers are topless but wear other clothing.
A manager at the club declined to comment for this story, and Kahoots' lawyer could not be reached for comment.
Town council Chairman Richard Kehoe said that the settlement was a "vindication" of the ordinance, which had drawn multiple lawsuits. Kehoe said the ordinance was designed to be one of the strictest in the state, and possibly the country. It took months, he said, and many drafts, to pull elements from other similar laws that had been shown to hold up in court. The effort followed repeated incidents of violence outside East Hartford's adult venues, including a shooting at the former Venus Lounge and a kidnapping near Kahoots.
May 5, 2010
http://www.courant.com/community/east-ha…
The town on Tuesday successfully distanced itself from a type of entertainment venue that would like to bring customers a little closer.
A federal court settlement has mandated that Kahoots, East Hartford's only strip club, comply with most parts of a town ordinance that, among other things, prevents entertainers from physically taking tips and outlaws physical contact with customers.
When the ordinance was adopted in 2008, there were two adult venues in town and two more trying to open. The strict regulations, requiring background checks of employees and 24-hour surveillance to ensure compliance, made it too difficult for new clubs to open and harder for existing ones to continue operating, town officials said. Eventually, that left only Kahoots, at 639 Main St.
The club filed two lawsuits against the town, one challenging the constitutionality of the ordinance, the other lobbying to be allowed to expand to a second location on Pitkin Street. In the settlement agreement between the club's and the town's lawyers, Kahoots will have to comply with all but a few of the requirements in the ordinance — mostly those related to the physical structure of the existing club — and will not open a second club.
Inside the club, the ban on physical contact will mean no lap dances and no slipping bills into dancers' clothing. Tips will have to be collected in a jar. Nudity is also banned, which will not directly affect Kahoots, where entertainers are topless but wear other clothing.
A manager at the club declined to comment for this story, and Kahoots' lawyer could not be reached for comment.
Town council Chairman Richard Kehoe said that the settlement was a "vindication" of the ordinance, which had drawn multiple lawsuits. Kehoe said the ordinance was designed to be one of the strictest in the state, and possibly the country. It took months, he said, and many drafts, to pull elements from other similar laws that had been shown to hold up in court. The effort followed repeated incidents of violence outside East Hartford's adult venues, including a shooting at the former Venus Lounge and a kidnapping near Kahoots.
May 5, 2010
http://www.courant.com/community/east-ha…
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4 comments
If I lived in Ohio, I would either relocate, or save up for roadtrips.
At least DC allows nude dancing.
This club is in CT...pretty close to downtown Hartford, and there are apparently much better options elsewhere in the state from what I've heard.
If you go to their http://kahootsonline.com/ it is for the Columbus, OH club (I think it is probably their most successful). They also have stated
CHECK OUT OUR OTHER LOCATIONS
Kahoots, 67 Windsor Ave, Vernon Rockville, CT. T: (860) 872-9393
Kahoots, 639 Main St, East Hartford, CT. T: (888) 452-4668
Larry Flynt's Hustler Club, 641 W 51st St, Manhattan, NY 10019. T: (212) 247-2460