"As restaurants start to reopen in Rhode Island for outdoor dining and drinking, strip clubs are also looking to get in on the action. Though food has never been the main draw for these nightlife mainstays, they will be able to open for dining if they have the right local licenses, get the local permission they need, and follow new state guidance to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The strip clubs-turned-restaurants will be subject to the same restrictions as other eateries that were allowed to reopen as of Monday. That means that adult entertainment -- strip shows, nudity and lap dances -- is off the table for now. In other words, they’ll likely look a lot like outdoor Hooters, just with fewer tables and more hand sanitizer.
Rhode Island Dolls, announced on Facebook that it would reopen Thursday under the new guidance. Owner Andy Noyes said strip clubs are in deep financial peril, blocked from getting federal Paycheck Protection Program support but still with bills to pay.
The city solicitor said a stage wouldn’t fly. While Rhode Island Dolls could operate as a restaurant, it couldn’t do adult entertainment, and couldn’t have a stage, John DeSimone said.
“I just wanted to get the girls back to work,” he said.
Rhode Island Dolls’ website describes its “award-winning” food, Dinner and drinks would be served by its waitstaff and its entertainers, Noyes said. Masks would have to be worn (until such time as someone wanted to eat or drink), and according to an ad posted to Facebook, there would be “NO contact!”
The state Department of Business Regulation said a strip club that wants to open for outdoor dining can’t have any entertainment, and still must follow all the rules."
