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3 Atlanta area clubs will probably lose their liquor.

shadowcat

Atlanta suburb

Sandy Springs can ban the sale of alcohol at strip clubs and other adult establishments within its city limits, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled Monday.

Maxim Cabaret, now known as the Coronet Club, first filed a lawsuit against the city a dozen years ago, shortly after Sandy Springs became incorporated. The suit contends the city’s ordinance prohibiting alcohol sales is unconstitutional.

But the state Supreme Court, in a decision written by Justice Britt Grant, said such laws can “constitutionally regulate negative secondary effects of strip clubs without unduly inhibiting free speech or expression.”

Sandy Springs adopted its ordinance after holding public hearings in late 2005. Council members were told that strip clubs depressed values of nearby properties and increased criminal activity, leading to higher costs for law enforcement and the court system. The city hired private investigators to conduct surveillance of the city’s adult clubs, and they reported seeing prostitution and public lewdness and intoxication.

This will affect Flashers, Doll house & Mardi Gras as well as the male strip club.