Oasis was raided again today. I was there at about 6 PM when the police came in and announced that Oasis was selling alcohol without a license. They also said it was illegal to possess alcohol in a sexually oriented business and said they were going to be issuing citations to customers. They claimed that they already knew who had been drinking alcohol on the premises, suggesting that an informant had already been there. They then went around and issued citations to several customers, apparently at random. I saw them breathalyze at least one. Several customers walked out. It looked like they didn’t make any attempt to stop them or impede their exit. I understand the bartenders were cited. They left after about 45 min, and a little while after that a manager said that they were closing, so I left.
"Several customers walked out. It looked like they didn’t make any attempt to stop them or impede their exit."
When the raid happens, that is plan A. Walk calmly toward the exit and don't make eye contact. Unless you're VIP peeps like Doc Evil, it's time to make a like a tree when the cops show up. I've been in a club for two raids and both times I walked straight out no problems.
Yes, I was. I was sitting at the bar as usual. They cited a guy a couple of seats away, then walked past me to a guy at a table and cited him. I saw only three or four citations issued. There may have been more, but it wasn’t even close to 25% of the people there, the majority of whom were drinking. I was in VIP about 1/2 hour before they came in. Maybe that was when the informant identified the drinkers.
Sounds like the city is now trying to harass the customers. How are customers supposed to know if every business establishment has the required licenses?
I was there too. It was interesting how random it was for them citing customers. I was drinking water, but there were multiple tables with people that had been drinking they skipped right over. They cited one older gentleman that I thought was drinking soda and I don’t think they explained to him very well what was happening. It seemed a bunch of managers also got cited but not all of them. I didn’t see them cite any dancers, but I was sitting at the front bar and it was hard to watch everything that was going on when they came in. Had to be about 10-15 officers.
One final impression I took away from it. A few of officers seemed pretty gung-ho about being there and giving out tickets. Save society from this evil place. But at least half seemed to just there following orders and I got the impression they would rather be doing something else.
I don’t have any direct knowledge but the tactics being described seem to imply an intentional attempt at intimidation aimed at the club ownership directly
It seems that it is "illegal to possess alcohol in a sexually oriented business". So you may now know the status of their liquor permit, but you should be adult enough to know if it's a sexually oriented business.
"I don’t have any direct knowledge but the tactics being described seem to imply an intentional attempt at intimidation aimed at the club ownership directly."
That's been going on a while. I was told there was a "raid" last Friday as well, but I understand that they didn't cite any customers. Now it seems they are trying to put additionalpressure on the the club through the customers.
The city of doraville has also been accused of writing excessive amounts of traffic citations, etc to raise revenue. Has even been sued but lost. However...
In 2017, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights looked at how much revenue cities across the country collected and how much of it came from fines. On average, just under one and a half percent of a city’s revenues came from fines.
But the study found that five metro-Atlanta cities, Doraville, Clarkston, Morrow, Stone Mountain, and Riverdale. were among the worst ten in America.
I looked up the city of Doraville sexually oriented business ordinance. It does ban possession of alcohol in a sexually oriented business:
Sec. 6-416. - Prohibited conduct.
(d) No person shall possess, use, or consume alcoholic beverages on the premises of a sexually oriented business.
However, it also says this:
(g) A sign in a form to be approved by the City Manager or designee, and summarizing the provisions of subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e), shall be posted near the entrance of the sexually oriented business in such a manner as to be clearly visible to patrons upon entry. No person shall cover, obstruct, or obscure said sign.
And this:
Sec. 6-417. - Scienter required to prove violation or business licensee liability.
This article does not impose strict liability. Unless a culpable mental state is otherwise specified herein, a showing of a reckless mental state is necessary to establish a violation of a provision of this article.
I’ve never seen the required sign posted at the front door, and I don’t believe there is one. Any reasonably competent lawyer should be able to get any customer citations dismissed simply because of the lack of the sign.
I guess it is the position of Oasis that the sexually oriented business ordinance doesn’t apply to them at all.
It actually sounds to me as if there’s a message being conveyed, I’d have know way to know but that’s a good sign that payoffs are not being directed at the correct person
Remember when elephants fight the grass gets trampled
As I've posted in the past, once the-powers-to-be/city decide they want a strip club out it's usually not a matter of if but when (even the mighty Follies was kneecapped).
The city has all kinds of rules/ordinances at its disposal or it can make new ones - the city also has endless resources at its disposal and can get their way even if the defendant is in the right by causing the defendant to go out of business via legal-fees - not to mention private-developers that may have their sights set on a SC's property and bribe city officials to do their dirty-work for them to get rid of the SC.
At the end of the day SCs are easy-targets and no one is gonna stand up for them - the best chance they may have in the future is if sex-work is legalized but regular SCs may lose out to brothels as in other countries where sex-work is legal.
"It’s not illegal to park in the parking lot of oasis so I don’t know where that was going"
Just more intimidation. The only thing I can possibly think of would be cross checking car owners to adult entertainment license database and seeing if there was anyone who had lapsed or revoked or known felon, etc. It would not cover everyone, but it is easier than going in to check ID's.
Or he was just looking for his daughter's car, dunno.
Well, they just got raided again. Everyone drinking got a ticket today. At least 10 people at the front bar. I was drinking water, so they allowed me to walk out.
I guess I should of added that it appears the plan is to cite patrons to discourage them for going to Oasis. Married people, Family Men, people with jobs that would frown on them going to Oasis. You get the idea. Because they were cited, they would have to appear in court to take care of the matter.
I assume it is a bigger play, less customers, less revenue and at some point is it still worth to stay open if you are not making coin. .
Twice in two days? I expect if they are open tomorrow, more of the same.
As for discouraging patrons from going, I doubt many of the patrons are on this forum or others to learn the raids are happening. Regulars will get the word, of course.
Thanks for the code references Doc. Seems like an attorney could get any charges dismissed not only on the lack of sign but on a patron’s activity/behavior being reasonable based on the establishment selling them the drink. This looks like the City was trying to cutoff the byob model… but I think they’ve messed up trying to ticket patrons. Also, an arrest/citation can’t be legally issued for previous act an informant has allegedly witnessed. An officer must have direct, first hand knowledge.
they could always sell soft drinks for $10 and include the liquor for free.
very much like follies workaround for 70% food. the chefs would bake sheet cakes every morning and the customers would buy a piece of cake that came with a complimentary cocktail.
Joe, I don't believe State liquor license requirements would allow free liquor give away. The Follies workaround seemed to be an attempt to meet a food to alchohol sales edict....different than trying to give away instead of selling alchohol. The code Doc quoted would prohibit the BYOB model anyways.
At least that's how I interpret all this stuff....
Thinking more about this bar-next-door idea. Decades ago Oasis used an enclosed outdoor courtyard for nude vollyeball games. The back door is still there near the bathrooms. Fence off the area between the club and the bar. Make a deal with the bar to put up a covered biergarten in that area with a bar to serve it. Folks could go out the Oasis back door, have a couple of drinks sitting under the heated/cooled tent, and go back in for a Coke and some fun.
"Maybe they can strike a deal with the bar next door. Put on wristbands and allow in and out to go next door to have a couple then come back" Nope. That wouldn't work either:
Sec. 6-419. - Location of sexually oriented businesses.
(a) It shall be unlawful to establish, operate, or cause to be operated a sexually oriented business in Doraville, unless said sexually oriented business is at least:
(1) Five hundred (500) feet from any parcel occupied by another sexually oriented business or by a business licensed by the State of Georgia to sell alcohol at the premises; and
Doraville clearly wrote their ordinance to drive Oasis out of business.
So even if they eliminate alcohol, the city then cites the fact that a bar opened next door to them long after they had been in business?
I don't know the legalities here, but it seems logical (not always the case with the law) that the city cannot permit Business B to open in a place that then makes pre-existing Business A in violation through no fault of their own.
Oasis is a very successful club, but it probably will have to close. I wonder if another club in the Atlanta City limits might try to step into that niche. It might be more profitable for one of the clubs trying to pretend to be Follies and Oasis probably could have operated pretty safely in the Atlanta City limits. Tattletales operates without being harassed and is similar in a lot of ways although it’s really cramped.
" Tattletales operates without being harassed and is similar in a lot of ways although it’s really cramped."
demolition is almost complete on the old in-town suites across the street from Tattletale. as soon as the hotel and condos start filling up, get ready for major harassment from those tenants and developers salivating over the land that tattletale is on.
potential tenants will more than likely need to sign a waiver acknowledging that they are purchasing property across from a strip club, but just like those people that buy houses near an airport, you can be certain that they will complain to the local city reps.
What’s really happened is the city hood movement. The clubs that have closed were not in Atlanta proper. It’s these towns that have popped up in unincorporated areas that are killing the clubs.
Flashers, Mardi Gras, Doll House, and Follies were all victims of these new cities or cities that expanded and annexed them into their city. Oasis and Pink Pony will eventually join the list. I think they are the only clubs still open in the northern suburbs.
This is crazy stuff. It’s easy to deal with this. You put the cash in an unmarked envelope and hand it to the chief when you stop by for your appointment.
When a club owner thinks he’s paying too much in Miscellaneous Fees to the local government - some learn the painful way.
Customers would have to know it happened or it will not affect their decision to go at all. Not everyone is privileged enough to divine wisdom from this Oracle of Truthful Opinions.
This was a great read, thanks for the info. I’m stopping by tomorrow for the first time in like 4 months or so. Hope I don’t have to experience that police bs, would be annoying. If so I would just check out the hot Spanish chicks next door that work at Jimmy’s!
I have been in Oasis several times since late August and has always seemed like business as usual. All this talk about liquor though might explain why the bartenders automatically give me a Diet Coke when I sit down.
Whatever happened to "no ex post facto laws shall be enacted". It's in the Constitution. Every one of these places should have been grandfathered in. Just my opinion.🤔
They seem to be able to pass tougher regulations anytime they want to. I think grandfathering in only applies when they decide to completely eliminate a type of otherwise legal business.
Fancy That!
It's an issue with porno media stores too. We have only a few, and it is effectively impossible to open new ones, just as it is with strip clubs.
In the 60's and 70's courts overturned all the laws preventing this, but then a new generation of Sexual Contras decided to write new laws. These are probably as unconstitutional as the previous ones, but putting them to the test is very expensive and time consumptive, and the courts have moved to the Right.
51 comments
I suppose they really don't care about what goes on in VIP or they would have gone to check those, too.
Curious at 6 PM on Friday was it very crowded? Wondering if they raided when not a lot of customers there just to make a point.
"Several customers walked out. It looked like they didn’t make any attempt to stop them or impede their exit."
When the raid happens, that is plan A. Walk calmly toward the exit and don't make eye contact. Unless you're VIP peeps like Doc Evil, it's time to make a like a tree when the cops show up. I've been in a club for two raids and both times I walked straight out no problems.
One final impression I took away from it. A few of officers seemed pretty gung-ho about being there and giving out tickets. Save society from this evil place. But at least half seemed to just there following orders and I got the impression they would rather be doing something else.
Sounds like Oasis has a rat problem.
That's been going on a while. I was told there was a "raid" last Friday as well, but I understand that they didn't cite any customers. Now it seems they are trying to put additionalpressure on the the club through the customers.
In 2017, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights looked at how much revenue cities across the country collected and how much of it came from fines. On average, just under one and a half percent of a city’s revenues came from fines.
But the study found that five metro-Atlanta cities, Doraville, Clarkston, Morrow, Stone Mountain, and Riverdale. were among the worst ten in America.
Sec. 6-416. - Prohibited conduct.
(d) No person shall possess, use, or consume alcoholic beverages on the premises of a sexually oriented business.
However, it also says this:
(g) A sign in a form to be approved by the City Manager or designee, and summarizing the provisions of subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e), shall be posted near the entrance of the sexually oriented business in such a manner as to be clearly visible to patrons upon entry. No person shall cover, obstruct, or obscure said sign.
And this:
Sec. 6-417. - Scienter required to prove violation or business licensee liability.
This article does not impose strict liability. Unless a culpable mental state is otherwise specified herein, a showing of a reckless mental state is necessary to establish a violation of a provision of this article.
I’ve never seen the required sign posted at the front door, and I don’t believe there is one. Any reasonably competent lawyer should be able to get any customer citations dismissed simply because of the lack of the sign.
I guess it is the position of Oasis that the sexually oriented business ordinance doesn’t apply to them at all.
Remember when elephants fight the grass gets trampled
I would simply claim I was at the restaurant next door. Same parking lot.
The city has all kinds of rules/ordinances at its disposal or it can make new ones - the city also has endless resources at its disposal and can get their way even if the defendant is in the right by causing the defendant to go out of business via legal-fees - not to mention private-developers that may have their sights set on a SC's property and bribe city officials to do their dirty-work for them to get rid of the SC.
At the end of the day SCs are easy-targets and no one is gonna stand up for them - the best chance they may have in the future is if sex-work is legalized but regular SCs may lose out to brothels as in other countries where sex-work is legal.
Just more intimidation. The only thing I can possibly think of would be cross checking car owners to adult entertainment license database and seeing if there was anyone who had lapsed or revoked or known felon, etc. It would not cover everyone, but it is easier than going in to check ID's.
Or he was just looking for his daughter's car, dunno.
I assume it is a bigger play, less customers, less revenue and at some point is it still worth to stay open if you are not making coin. .
As for discouraging patrons from going, I doubt many of the patrons are on this forum or others to learn the raids are happening. Regulars will get the word, of course.
very much like follies workaround for 70% food. the chefs would bake sheet cakes every morning and the customers would buy a piece of cake that came with a complimentary cocktail.
At least that's how I interpret all this stuff....
Maybe they can strike a deal with the bar next door. Put on wristbands and allow in and out to go next door to have a couple then come back.
Sec. 6-419. - Location of sexually oriented businesses.
(a) It shall be unlawful to establish, operate, or cause to be operated a sexually oriented business in Doraville, unless said sexually oriented business is at least:
(1) Five hundred (500) feet from any parcel occupied by another sexually oriented business or by a business licensed by the State of Georgia to sell alcohol at the premises; and
Doraville clearly wrote their ordinance to drive Oasis out of business.
I don't know the legalities here, but it seems logical (not always the case with the law) that the city cannot permit Business B to open in a place that then makes pre-existing Business A in violation through no fault of their own.
demolition is almost complete on the old in-town suites across the street from Tattletale. as soon as the hotel and condos start filling up, get ready for major harassment from those tenants and developers salivating over the land that tattletale is on.
potential tenants will more than likely need to sign a waiver acknowledging that they are purchasing property across from a strip club, but just like those people that buy houses near an airport, you can be certain that they will complain to the local city reps.
When a club owner thinks he’s paying too much in Miscellaneous Fees to the local government - some learn the painful way.
Fancy That!
It's an issue with porno media stores too. We have only a few, and it is effectively impossible to open new ones, just as it is with strip clubs.
In the 60's and 70's courts overturned all the laws preventing this, but then a new generation of Sexual Contras decided to write new laws. These are probably as unconstitutional as the previous ones, but putting them to the test is very expensive and time consumptive, and the courts have moved to the Right.
SJG
https://tuscl.net/photo.php?id=2156
Pink Floyd
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-tgFDS7…