The Pelican Theater's two-year struggle with the La Habra City Council is ending with the nude juice bar filing for bankruptcy.
The City Council had denied the Pelican a business permit on grounds it didn't meet parking and landscaping requirements. The Pelican's owners sued the city, and a federal appeals court gave them permission to open last November.
But residents in the hundreds protested, fearing it would attract young people to the club, which featured nudity.
This isn't the first time a non-alcoholic club featuring live adult entertainment faced trouble trying to open in California. A few years ago in Linda, a tiny town north of Sacramento, a veteran adult club proprietor tried to open a nude juice bar, Earl's Golden Foxes.
He succeeded despite local protests, after convincing county officials there would be no topless entertainment. But he lost almost immediately when, on his opening night, with almost no patrons, he ordered his dancers to take the tops off - and a radio reporter who was present for the opening aired a story live on the incident.
That report led a county supervisor to call out the sheriff, who closed the club and arrested the owner, who ultimately sold the premises to another owner.
