Adult entertainment center keeps low profile in Stoughton

Adult entertainment center keeps low profile in Stoughton By Seth Owen, Enterprise staff writer STOUGHTON — Two decades ago John Fullerton was holding a sign to protest the opening of a strip club on Route 138. But for the last dozen years, Fullerton has worked at a bowling alley next door to Alex's South of Boston and the club in his view has turned out to be an OK neighbor. He still doesn't approve of what goes on inside the establishment — where scantily-clad women strip nude and dance for customers — but "they've been no trouble," said Fullerton, 82, a World War II veteran. Other business owners near Alex's South of Boston also say the club blends into the surrounding commercial district with no apparent problems. "They've been good neighbors," said Joseph Lastoria, owner of Lastoria Italian restaurant across the street, adding he would prefer it wasn't a strip club. Alex's wasn't always viewed as a good neighbor. The introduction of nude dancing there in 1979 brought pickets to the streets outside the club and selectmen tried to shut the place down, revoking its license on at least three occasions. In September 1984, opponents lost their legal battle when the state Supreme Judicial Court struck down bylaws in Stoughton and four other communities banning nude dancing, ruling it was a form of constitutionally protected speech. Some 20 opponents kept up their protests but they eventually stopped picketing, and with the exception of such hold-outs as a local man who says the rosary outside the club each week, Alex's has operated without opposition or trouble. "We've never had an arrest there," said Police Chief Manuel Cachopa. While operating quietly, Alex's has left its mark on this region, mostly in the form of restrictions that cities and towns — in the wake of the SJC decision — have enacted to limit where adult establishments can locate. "You have to have (a policy) or you lose" in court, said Thomas Millias, building inspector in Halifax. Before it was Alex's, the club in 1968 was known as the Sport Lounge and featured "exotic dancers" wearing G-strings for about a decade until a fire destroyed a section of the building. After a stab at converting the place into a family restaurant, owner George Alexopoulos introduced totally nude dancing in the fall of 1979. Alexopoulos said then his club's entertainment was "tasteful" and it was geared for "adults to enjoy, have fun, watch and then leave." Opponents did not buy his argument and launched the five-year battle to keep the strip club out. While defeated by the 1984 SJC decision, the town has won some concessions. In 1983, a U.S. Supreme Court justice ruled the town did not overstep its authority when it banned patrons from touching the breasts of stripper Chesty Morgan during her show. In 1989, allegations the club allowed a 17-year-old boy to dance nude revitalized opponents briefly. Club operators were acquitted of violating state labor laws. Quiet audience at club On a recent Friday night, about 50 patrons in the 200-seat club quietly watched 15 or so female dancers. Nearly all the customers were men; one couple sat at a table for about 30 minutes. Contact between the dancers and the patrons is strictly controlled. And enforcing the rules were a half-dozen burly young men in white shirts, black bow ties and suspenders. Among their duties was escorting dancers to their cars in the parking lot. Dancers work for tips only and in many clubs they pay the club to dance. Alex's managers would not comment on any aspect of that club operations. Admission to the club ranges from $3 to $12 depending on the time and day. Daytime admission is lower while the higher amounts are charged when there are feature performers. Alex's often advertises appearances by stars from adult films. The club has a food menu, with items such as a cheeseburger going for $3. The club advertises "amateur" nights for Sundays and "18 and up" nights Mondays and Tuesdays. It no longer has ladies nights featuring male strippers. Alex's, like other businesses, brings tax revenue into town. Assessors value the property at 584 Washington St. at $341,100. Alex's owner of record, 584 Washington Street Realty Trust, paid $7,787 in property taxes in 2003. Contacted for this story, owner Alexopoulos, of Roslindale, said he had no comment. Former selectman Roy Cohen said the club should never have been allowed to open. A missing comma in the wording of the club's entertainment license changed a restrictive definition of what activities were allowed to a much more liberal interpretation, he said. "It was a clerical error, a comma was left out," Cohen said. "It changed the entire meaning of the sentence on entertainment." Today, 'sex sells' Sexuality is exploited today in American culture, said Patricia Leavy, an assistant professor of sociology at Stonehill College. "The whole idea of 'sex sells' has been taken to extremes," Leavy said. "When you walk through a mall, you can see images suggesting group sex." Examples of public sexuality abound in the media. There's the suggestive Abercrombie and Fitch clothing catalogs and the televised kisses among pop stars Madonna, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. Cable stations brought graphic sex to TV viewers and now network television shows are getting racier. But despite the patronage of pro athletes and the aura of the strip joint as a "gentlemen's club," Leavy said it's important to keep in mind what goes on there. "It's a place where men pay to see women strip. It is what it is," she said. It's a positive that society is less uptight about sex, but "on a more troubling note, there is an increased objectification of women," she said. Community fears that strip clubs will bring in prostitution are not unfounded, Leavy said. A number of studies, she said, "show a link between strip clubs and prostitution. Some women make extra money by servicing men." Not everyone in Stoughton accepts the strip club. Resident Gregory Smith, 70, has stood outside Alex's and prayed the rosary about once a week for the past five years. "I believe as a Roman Catholic that it is a moral issue," Smith said. "It's very displeasing to God, making a sex object out of the women." Smith said he doesn't get much reaction. "I get a few honks of the horn or people saying 'right on,'" he said. He's never been bothered by Alex's management, while at the Foxy Lady in Brockton he was arrested for trespassing in 1999, he said. Rev. Stanley Schultz of the Faith Baptist Church in Stoughton said he doesn't hear much about Alex's these days. "There's a lot of other issues pressing on people's minds. The war, the whole aftermath of 9-11, the marriage debate going on in this state," Schultz said. While clergy have not been speaking out against the club, Schultz said that did not represent acceptance. "I'd be grieved if anyone thought I was happy about it," he said. Schultz said his predecessor, Rev. John R. Baillie, was very active in the fight against the club 20 years ago. Baillie, 75, is retired now and living in Bridgewater, but he still opposes Alex's. "Any place that is downgrading to a class of persons is not good," he said. Baillie does count as a victory the protests that helped close down an adult bookstore that operated in downtown Stoughton during the town's battle with Alex's. The store closed sometime in the 1980s. Baillie said the bookstore was worse. "At least at Alex's it's inside and between the people there. The other place was disseminating that into the community," he said. Rules have changed Alex's and the Foxy Lady in Brockton are the only strip clubs in the 27 cities and towns covered by The Enterprise. According to the online directory [view link], there are at least 20 strip clubs in Massachusetts, including four in Boston and a half-dozen in the Springfield area. New Bedford and Dartmouth each have a club. And little Rhode Island has 16 clubs — 10 in Providence alone — according to the site. In the years since the SJC ruled nude dancing is a form of free speech, most local cities and towns have moved to restrict adult entertainment, with some having entire sections of their zoning regulations devoted to these establishments. The limits typically restrict adult-entertainment venues to areas where there are no nearby homes, churches or schools. Without written policies, a community has little legal recourse to stop adult entertainment. But not every community heeded that lesson. In the late 1990s, Brockton went through legal problems when it tried to block the Foxy Lady strip club from locating on Route 27 just south of the Stoughton line. In 1998, Superior Court Judge Richard Connon ruled the city was wrong to deny Foxy Lady's permit to include nude dancing on its entertainment license. The city subsequently passed an ordinance establishing a small adult entertainment district on Oak Hill Way, an industrial area on the city's south side. But that was too late to keep Foxy Lady from opening on Route 27, just west of Route 24, in 1999. In Taunton, City Planner Kevin Scanlon said he spotted a loophole in the city's zoning when he came on board eight years ago, so he drafted an amendment adding adult entertainment zones in several industrial areas scattered around the city. In Plymouth, the town's bylaws have five pages of requirements restricting adult-oriented establishments, said Richard Manfredi, director of inspectional services. While Plymouth has had a few inquiries over the years, no one has made a formal filing after seeing all the requirements. "That's how we like it," Manfredi said. Even a town like Halifax — not near major highways and unlikely to attract a business relying on many out-of-town customers — took no chances. Millias, the building inspector, said adult venues cannot be within 1,000 feet of each other or such facilities as churches, schools and day-care centers. The recent opening of a day-care center in a Halifax industrial park now makes a large part of that area unavailable for adult venues. In every community, applicants for an adult-entertainment business would be required to get a special permit, providing more opportunity to regulate it, such as the hours of operation and the signs used outside the place. Few options in Stoughton In Stoughton, Building Inspector David Tonis said it would be "virtually impossible" for anyone else to open a club like Alex's. Stoughton's regulations now provide just two places where a new club can try to open, he said. One is in the Metro South Corporate Center off Route 139 near the Randolph line. Such businesses as BJ's Wholesale Club and the headquarters of Stone & Webster engineering are there, and a Kohl's department store is opening this year. The second is Rose Street, part of the Volume Apparel Building in a general business area off Canton Street downtown and close to the police station. Tonis said both sites are more valuable for other uses and if someone proposed an adult venue, the applicant would still need a special permit from the zoning board. Meanwhile, Alex's maintains the low-key presence of the past two decades. At the Midas Muffler shop next door, George Maxwell, a manager, said his business closes at 5 p.m., before Alex's gets busy, but he has seen no problems and gets some extra business from the club. "We've had some of the customers come for oil changes," he said. "It's just another business." The Enterprise, 60 Main St., P.O. Box 1450, Brockton, MA 02303-1450 Telephone: (508) 586-6200