Heads up you San Diegoians.
shadowcat
Atlanta suburb
CHULA VISTA, Calif. - Controversy is brewing over the first strip club now open in Chula Vista. At issue is not just the club's location near children but also how the owner obtained the permits.
The Eyecandy Showgirls strip club opened this weekend along prime bayfront property in Chula Vista and is not being welcomed with open arms.
"I think it's a little surprising considering this is kind of a family-oriented area," said Chula Vista Nature Center visitor Kendra McElree.
The club is in an area close to children, just across the street from the Chula Vista Nature Center.
10News has uncovered that there is even more reason to be concerned about Eyecandy. The owner's other club in the city of San Bernardino called Flesh was shut down for prostitution.
"At least in San Bernardino, they had no intention of running a comedy club," San Bernardino City Attorney James Penman told 10News. "They did not even have the intention of running a nude juice bar. They intended to run a house of prostitution and that's what they were doing when we closed them down."
As an FYI, I know a dancer that used to work at Flesh before it got busted. She agrees that it was nothing more than a whore house. But how can this club compete being so close to Tijuana?
On one job search website, the Eyecandy Showgirls club was advertised as a new adult entertainment club searching for nude female dancers, DJs and door men. No background checks were necessary.
When 10News went to the Eyecandy club to talk with management, 10News was told very little, except for that the club has the proper permits to operate.
Construction improvements have been under way for months. However, the city of Chula Vista told 10News, "The owner indicated on the tenant improvement application that the construction work was for a comedy club."
But nude dancers and comedy club comedians are two different professions.
Chula Vista municipal code prohibits exotic dance operations within city limits. Now, the city and police are looking into the legality of the business.
The Los Angeles-based attorney for Eyecandy told 10News this is a fight that Chula Vista will not win if they should pursue, since their club is protected by the Constitution.
"We are a legally operating business offering jobs to unemployed workers," said attorney Roger Jon Diamond from his office in Santa Monica. "The city and residents should embrace that we're trying to get people working again."
It is the work that they will be doing that is in question.
10News has now put the city of Chula Vista in touch with city officials in San Bernardino to compare the illegal moves the company may have made in both cities.
The Eyecandy Showgirls strip club opened this weekend along prime bayfront property in Chula Vista and is not being welcomed with open arms.
"I think it's a little surprising considering this is kind of a family-oriented area," said Chula Vista Nature Center visitor Kendra McElree.
The club is in an area close to children, just across the street from the Chula Vista Nature Center.
10News has uncovered that there is even more reason to be concerned about Eyecandy. The owner's other club in the city of San Bernardino called Flesh was shut down for prostitution.
"At least in San Bernardino, they had no intention of running a comedy club," San Bernardino City Attorney James Penman told 10News. "They did not even have the intention of running a nude juice bar. They intended to run a house of prostitution and that's what they were doing when we closed them down."
As an FYI, I know a dancer that used to work at Flesh before it got busted. She agrees that it was nothing more than a whore house. But how can this club compete being so close to Tijuana?
On one job search website, the Eyecandy Showgirls club was advertised as a new adult entertainment club searching for nude female dancers, DJs and door men. No background checks were necessary.
When 10News went to the Eyecandy club to talk with management, 10News was told very little, except for that the club has the proper permits to operate.
Construction improvements have been under way for months. However, the city of Chula Vista told 10News, "The owner indicated on the tenant improvement application that the construction work was for a comedy club."
But nude dancers and comedy club comedians are two different professions.
Chula Vista municipal code prohibits exotic dance operations within city limits. Now, the city and police are looking into the legality of the business.
The Los Angeles-based attorney for Eyecandy told 10News this is a fight that Chula Vista will not win if they should pursue, since their club is protected by the Constitution.
"We are a legally operating business offering jobs to unemployed workers," said attorney Roger Jon Diamond from his office in Santa Monica. "The city and residents should embrace that we're trying to get people working again."
It is the work that they will be doing that is in question.
10News has now put the city of Chula Vista in touch with city officials in San Bernardino to compare the illegal moves the company may have made in both cities.
11 comments
"Californians are all first amendment raw raw raw until something they disagree with appears. Then it's We got to shut it down!"
A number of people interviewed for this story and on other outlets said they didn't give a shit. Until fairly recently, San Diego was reliably conservative, which is how we got our strip club laws in the first place.
"If the residents don't like it they should get rid of those persons responsible for approving the club."
It sounds like the owners didn't fully disclose what type of business they were planning on having, but they may have done so as far as the law requires, which will probably be the crux of the case. The people approving the project are just ordinary joes that interpret the codes approved by elected officials - this shoudln't be pinned on them.
Also for rh48hr and mikeya02, I think the truth is somewhere between your assertions - yeah, you can get contact in San Diego, but it's not as easy as most other places and it's a crapshoot in general. A $20 single-song dance won't get you much, and you won't get much on the weekends no matter how much you spend. As always, depends on the girl and the club.
Anyway, strip clubs are a radioactive topic in San Diego politically - there was a huge scandal back in the 90s where some Vegas guys tried bribing a few councilpeople to loosen up the strict (basically: no touching) laws here. Hopefully this whole thing is able to push the debate back a little in the other direction, but I don't know if the owners of the Hawaii Theater are the right guys for that job - probably a bit too much over the top.
I agree, you can't get much closer to TJ then CV maybe 5 miles more, a $8 parking pass, a $5 cab ride and you can have as much contact as you can handle for between $20 for twenty minutes up to a hole $60 for 30 minutes.
I often wonder how the SC's in SD proper compete.
It kind of seems like outside of Cheetahs, a lot of clubs are sort of struggling a bit anyway.