Gentlemen's Club 70

Owner Maintains Club Benefitting From Controversy
By Ronald Sitton

   As a customer drives into the parking lot, a well dressed security attendant greets him while informing a guest who is leaving that a cab can be called if needed. The guest informs the attendant that he has had one or two drinks and a very good time.

   At the door, a security floorman checks identification and motions those willing to pay a $5 cover charge into the newly-remodeled Gentlemen's Club 70 at 6615 E. U.S. Highway 70, east of Protho Junction.

    The nightclub, which has business hours of 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. Monday through Saturday, opened June 11. Owner Michael Rosen said the club has drawn hundreds of customers in its short existence and is profiting from residents' complaints about its semi-nude dancers.

   At the June 14 City Council meeting, Mayor Pat Hays voiced both his and the City Council's displeasure with the club's opening. He said the owners were bringing in "scantily clad ladies to bolster attendance." Hays asked City Attorney Randy Morley to determine what legal rights the city has concerning such a club.

City Action

   Morley said he will send a memo to city officials stating that the city can either concentrate or disperse such nightclubs throughout the city through zoning regulations, but little else could be done.

   As long as the business operates according to regulations, the partially-nude dancing is protected by the First Amendment and a 1991 U.S. Supreme Court case called Barnes v. Glen Theater Inc., Morley said.

   A question of whether a business can be zoned out of a previously existing establishment is on appeal to the federal Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, he said. The city of Little Rock has been sued as a challenge to a retroactive ordinance zoning adult pornography stores.

   Files from the North Little Rock Police Department indicate that the club site has had a checkered history since 1987. In that time, reports have been filed on one vandalism charge, one public intoxication charge, one assault charge, one robbery, six burglaries, and one homicide in June 1991 in which a Jacksonville man was shot with a .12 gauge pump shotgun three times in the abdomen. The most recent incident at the site was a Dec. 22, 1992, report with a charge of the unauthorized use of a vehicle.

   By comparison, two reports were filed by the North Little Rock Police Department since 1992 at the city's other "gentlemen's club," P's and Q's, located at 7711 Crystal Hill Road. Those reports included one charge of theft and one charge of vandalism.

   On May 20, the Alcohol Beverage Control Board approved the transfer of previous owner Stillman W. Penny's existing liquor license for the club to Rosen. Penny's license expires June 30, but Rosen's new permit becomes effective July 1.

'Free Advertising'

   Rosen said the "gentleman's club" is receiving free advertising because of the publicity it has received. He believes the negative complaints in the press spawn from people who have a moral problem with the club.

   "I know a certain segment (of the city's population) finds anything sexual offensive," Rosen said. "(They) can't handle sexuality ... This is America. It is supposed to be a free country. If they find this objectionable, they can stay out.

   "I realize segments of the community find what we do objectionable. I may find things that they are doing objectionable, but I'm not raising heck to the City Council about it."

   As required by state law, dancers wear "pasties" that cover the top of the areola and "t-bars" that cover their pubic areas. Violation of the state nudity laws is a misdemeanor. Rosen said dancers shed more clothing in other states. While the club has female dancers, he said he doubts it will ever have male dancers.

   "This is calmer and tamer than what the kids can see on their cable system," Rosen said. "These are adults; nobody's forcing them in here."

   Rosen said his clientele includes "a cross section of all kinds of people," which includes mostly businessmen and sometimes couples. He said he is aware of past problems the location has had, but he has taken precautions against any future problems.

   Rosen said the "rowdier" clientele will not pay the high cover charge of $5. He said his patrons cannot have a good time if others are causing problems.

   Rosen hired a security attendant to deal with problems outside the club and Pulaski County Sheriff's deputies regularly patrol the area. Inside, he has hired floormen who are "muscular, tough guys."

   Rosen said his security staff handles patrons gently, but makes sure they understand the rules. Once the rules are broken, the patrons will leave "forcibly or peaceably."

   "This place had a bad reputation and we're going to change that. People tend to behave more at this type of club than they do at a country and western bar or any other type bar," Rosen said. "Traditionally, across the country, gentlemen's clubs get less police calls than normal bars. Fights are not good for business."

   When a patron is obviously intoxicated, he or she is not allowed to enter. When a bartender believes the patron has imbibed beyond a safe point, alcohol is no longer served but coffee is served free of charge to sober the patron, Rosen said.

   The club has abided by all permits and by ABC regulations. The "gentleman's club" is licensed as a night club, and he said there are no state laws which prohibit such clubs from operating.

   The club serves alcoholic cocktails, beer and an entree including a vegetable, salad and dessert. ABC regulations state food must be served on the premises of private clubs. Rosen said he receives few orders for food, but it is available.

   "We have done everything up to the letter of the law," he said. "If we did anything illegal, that would close us down. Then we would not make any money."

   Rosen said the club contributes to the city through taxes and by drawing business from Little Rock, Jacksonville, Sherwood, Conway and Cabot. Formerly, the building was deteriorating, but Rosen has made it more "proper and attractive," he said. Plans call for a paved parking lot, valet parking and security fencing.

   Rosen has never owned a nightclub in the past, but has been involved in the radio and television industries. He said "gentleman's clubs" are generally very profitable and tend to do better as an investment than any other club.

   Rosen said he will file a lawsuit if the city attempts to zone his club out of existence or close the club barring violations of the law.

   "If they try to infringe on my First Amendment rights, they will have to go to court with us," Rosen said. "I hope they keep their senses, but that's their choice."

Resident Reaction

   A group of residents living near the club came before the City Council saying the club is a detriment to the neighborhood. Their protests brought about Hays' request to Morley to determine the city's legal options. Yet, at least one resident in the area has not found the club to be an irritant.

   Oliver Cossey, who lives directly behind the Gentlemen's Club 70 at 120 Eureka Garden Road, said there had been trouble at the former club, but he has heard nothing since the new owners moved into the building.

   On the other hand, Townsel Boyd, a Pentecostal minister who lives at 421 Meadow Park and whose house sits diagonally from the club, said he has not had noise problems but the bright lights keep him from sleeping.

   Boyd said the new club is "keeping its act together" since city officials are observing it. He predicted the "strip joint" will bring sexual deviants and perverts to the area, as well as increase the chances of rape and child molestation with the Meadow Park Elementary School located two blocks away from the establishment.

   Boyd said alcohol, men and partially nude women "do not mix" because the men get "excited" and the alcohol muddies their senses. Boyd is upset because the community was not informed that the business was going to open as a "strip joint" until a day before operations began. He said the community would have fought against the business if it had known what type of business was being introduced into the building.

   Boyd said the business devalues the surrounding properties, degrades women, should be kept from areas where there are children, and will make the area become somewhat like the Asher Avenue area in Little Rock.

   "People say crack ... LSD ... and prostitution are good for the body. Where are we going to draw the line?" Boyd asked. "I don't want a whorehouse across the street or a crack house next door ... They killed people in Waco ... I don't see them stormin' the strip joints."

   Boyd noted that there are no such "strip joints" in Lakewood or Pulaski Heights.

   Lynn Welsh, a Civil Service Commissioner who owns property in the area, said the community should be told when such businesses are proposed in the city. She said the club is a detriment to the area.

   "I can't believe this is an 'asset' to our community or any community," Welsh said. "I would hope our elected officials see the need to stop this sort of activity."

   Welsh said the community was happy the building was getting cleaned, but it had no knowledge that the building would be used as a "gentleman's club." She said more sexually perverted people would enter the area as well as regular patrons who are "sexually addicted."

   Welsh said the work is demoralizing to the dancers, of which many have other problems. She said no such club should be in an area where there are many "latchkey children."

   "Not in my neighborhood, not in any neighborhood," Welsh said. "That's the way I feel about it. . . They just quietly moved in. I'd prefer they'd just quietly move out."

This article originally appeared in the North Little Rock Times on June 24, 1993..