A Hustler strip club may open here in Jan., as lawyers for the club asked the city council today to approve a transfer of an area bar’s liquor license and topless dancing permit. If council members sign off on it, the decision could end a three-year-long battle between the strip club owners and the city.
The Detroit News reported that owners first asked for the transfer in June 2003 but the city council has refused to act on the request. The council is now scheduled to vote Wednesday on the transfer.
Problems began when the council tried to block the opening of another strip club at the location. The two owners took the council to court and a judge in 2004 ruled against the city. The ruling allowed the owners to open the club, but the council never transferred over the liquor license.
In March 2006, the owners re-filed their lawsuit, with an aim at forcing the council to act on the transfer.
Frank Palazzolo, an attorney for the new owners, H.D.V Greektown, told The Detroit News that they aren't looking for any monetary damages from the city. They just want the council to approve the transfer of the liquor license, he said.
"We are here in a conciliatory mode," Palazzolo told the report. "We are not looking for any money from the city."
The story went on to say that if the council approves the transfer, the owners would then need state approval. If all goes well, Palazzolo told the report that the bar would be a "premiere facility" downtown, attracting tourists from out-of-state and employing up to 125 full-time staffers. They would have a licensing agreement with the Hustler company to use the name.
