PROVIDENCE, R.I.–Gentlemen’s clubs in Providence can reopen after submitting COVID-19 safety plans to city officials.
But under new plans, no touching will be allowed at the strip clubs and performances must move outside.
The Foxy Lady, Cadillac Lounge, Desire and Club Fantasies each submitted proposals for reopening to the Board of Licenses on Wednesday.
The board, which voted for approving the clubs 5-0, noted that rules include either providing a Plexiglas barrier between a guest and performer, or they have a 14-foot distance outside.
“These places all have patios in varying degrees in size and scope,” said Nick Hemond, an attorney representing the clubs.
The four clubs can serve food and drinks inside, as long as they follow the state’s reopening guidelines for restaurants. Hemond said he will continue to work with the Board of Licenses to clarify this point.
The four clubs are now working to comply with the new guidelines and are looking at a tentative reopening on July 1.
Separately, a federal judge has blocked the city of Providence from pulling the licenses of the Wild Zebra strip club.
U.S. District Court Judge John McConnell granted the injunction after the Wild Zebra was closed down by the city’s Board of Licenses in February after the board found “negligence” on the part of the owners led to prostitution solicitation charges.
McConnell wrote in his decision that because the state Supreme Court would not take up the case, the club did not have an opportunity for judicial review of a case where the business’s constitutional rights might be infringed.
The ACLU backed Wild Zebra and filed an amicus brief with the court supporting the motion to reconsider.
The new injunction blocks the city of Providence from enforcing the revocation of the adult entertainment license.
