JOHNS CREEK, Ga. - Adult retailer John Cornetta has closed his controversial Love Shack superstore in Johns Creek, vowing to sue the city for $1.7 million in damages.
"I couldn’t take the losses any more," Cornetta told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I’m still opening new stores in other states, and I still have pending court cases that I’m going to win."
Cornetta told reporters he was losing $40,000 a month on the store.
The Love Shack opened just a few days before Johns Creek was incorporated as a city on Dec. 1, 2006. Cornetta has been fighting the city to keep the store open ever since.
Cornetta argued that zoning and license restrictions in Johns Creek didn't apply to the Love Shack because the store opened before the city existed. But he was forced to change his inventory when a Superior Court judge ruled he had no right to operate an adult business at the location.
The maverick adult store owner went after Johns Creek mayor Mike Bodner in a public feud, pointing out that the city refused his donation to help the Johns Creek fire department after several people died in a local fire. Cornetta set up a charity event to raise money for civil services in the city, recruiting Atlanta porn director Mike South toplay the mayor in a dunking booth.
Cornetta says the city refused to grant him permission for signage, while allowing signs for other businesses that lacked proper licenses. Court cases are still pending on both sides of the dispute.
“If the judge finds that they illegally caused a business to fail, they’re facing huge fines,” he said.
