Macon, Georgia- Nestled in a strip mall on Riverside Drive, Club Sinsations is Macon's only bikini bar.
Just inside the door, signs beckon patrons to ask about lap dances and table dances.
Other signs proclaim that the women are paid only in tips. "Be generous," they read.
Open since February, the club has been a source of conflictwith residents of the neighborhood behind it.
Some residents worry that their property values will take a hit because of the club's presence and that crime elements will infiltrate their quiet streets. Police say undercover officers have visited the club and found no laws being broken.
Other residents have a moral issue with the idea of scantily clad women dangling from a pole.
Some neighbors question whether the women are actually clothed at all, or they wonder if the women are stripping illegally.
None of them wants the club anywhere near their home.
"I have a young family, and I would rather that kind of establishment not be near where we are," said Jake Cox of nearby Crestline Drive.
David R. Thompson, part owner of the club, said he doesn't agree with the neighbors' impressions.
"I don't think it's that much different than Hooters," he said. "The girls are wearing a little less, but they're respectful."
From the outside, it's difficult to determine exactly what is going on inside Club Sinsations because of darkened windows. From Riverside Drive, passing motorists see signs advertising ladies' night and beer.
Until recently, a nearby commercial billboard bearing the club's name was visible from Interstate 75.
Inside, women in bikinis shoot pool with male patrons while some men sit alone, playing video poker. Big-screen TVs over their heads are tuned to sporting events. Some of them just sit at the bar enjoying a drink.
Down a hallway lit with a black light, patrons enter a lounge where women dance on a stage around a brass pole. Sitting at tables or on couches, patrons watch or buy lap dancesfrom bikini-clad women.
Men and women alike walk up to the stage to pass dollar bills to the dancers, who wedge them into their garters.
Many people have a different impression of the club because they've never been inside, manager Shon Norman said.
"It's not a strip club. It's a bikini bar," Norman said. "A lot of people don't know what it is because they haven't come in here.
"We've got ladies in bikinis dancing."
Thompson said the idea for the club came from a group of friends and their relatives who wanted to open a bar together. Instead of fighting strict zoning requirements needed to open an adult entertainment club that could offer nude entertainment, he said, the group decided on a bikini bar.
"It leaves a little to the imagination," Thompson said. "And it's respectful to the ladies and the community."
No matter what's going on inside, neighbors want the club to move - or go out of business.
Standing underneath her Ellenwood Circle carport recently, Jackie Gordon said she can hear music at night coming from the club more than 100 yards away.
"It's pretty loud," she said. "You can hear the bump, bump, bump at night."
Although he lives a few streets back from the club, Victor Jones of Crestline Drive said he believes there are more appropriate places for establishments such as Club Sinsations farther away from established neighborhoods and schools. The neighborhood includes Rosa Taylor Elementary.
Jones said several neighbors share his opinion. They believe the bikini bar pushes property values down and shouldn't be located near an elementary school.
"Our concern is the neighborhood children and our property values," he said.
Jones said CJ's Sports Bar and Grill has been located on Riverside Drive for years, and neighbors haven't had any serious problems with it.
Cox, also a Crestline Drive resident, said he's concerned about the impression that having a bikini bar on a major thoroughfare gives to visitors passing through town, as well as families patronizing other businesses in the same shopping center with the club.
"Who knows what they're seeing going in and out of that place," Cox said. His opinion?"It's a very negative and immoral establishment.
"I'd like to see it moved or closed down," he said.
Paul Strozier, owner of Sweet Pea's Consignment Shop and Patsy's Closet, said he relocated his stores in December after learning that a bikini bar would soon be coming to the shopping center.
"I knew what it would lead to," he said, adding that he had previous problems with customers of a massage parlor also in the shopping center using his stores as waiting areas. Employees of the massage parlor declined to comment.
"We just don't like it," Strozier said of the club's form of entertainment.
But employees of other businesses in the shopping center say they haven't seen any negative effects since Club Sinsations opened its doors.
"It doesn't affect our business at all," said James Yack, an employee of Preferred Trophies of Macon.
Every couple of days, Yack said he sees a cleaning service hired by Club Sinsations picking up trash in the parking lot.
"They're really nice people," he said.
Regina Green, manager of Acceptance Insurance, said all of the club's customers have gone home by the time she comes to work.
"We don't have any problems out of them," she said.
In opening the bikini bar, Thompson said he and the other owners who make up Cousins Ventures Inc. listed on the club's zoning application have made it a point to be mindful of the law and as respectful of the community as possible.
He said the club's signs were designed with the community in mind.
"It's not in-your-face 'Nudie girls XXX' on the sign," Thompson said.
And to ensure that the club stays within the boundaries of zoning ordinances, Norman said part of his job is to ensure that the women stay clothed - and patrons don't get out of hand. Signs in the club read: "Our ladies have a TOUCH & GO policy. YOU TOUCH & YOU GO!"
Thompson said the managers have to sign off on what the women wear.
"We've been real careful about that," he said.
The club also tries to monitor how loudly music is played, Thompson said, to ensure that it can't be heard outside.
He said he doesn't understand residents' concerns that property values could fall because of the club's location. Instead, he said he believes the club will increase customer traffic and spending in the area, thereby helping increase property values.
"It can't hurt property values," Thompson said.
Macon police Lt. Kelly Monroe said undercover officers went into the club earlier this year in response to neighbors' complaints.
"But we couldn't find anything illegal," he said.
Monroe said officers also have spot-checked Club Sinsations to make sure they're not serving alcohol to underage customers.
"And they passed," he said.
When the club first opened, Monroe said police received complaints about parking overflowing onto neighborhood streets, but parking hasn't been a problem in recent months.
He said he hasn't seen an increase in criminal activity because of the club.
"I don't have anything that shows a direct relationship," he said.
Macon-Bibb County zoning records show that Club Sinsations is operating within county regulations.
The business is designated as a nightclub, and it's allowed to serve alcohol and have live entertainment, including dancing, according to zoning guidelines.
"As long as they are wearing clothing, it's OK," said Randi Doveton, a development review officer for the Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning Commission.
Macon-Bibb ordinances define the women as being clothed as long as their genitalia and the "cleft of the buttocks" are covered.
Doveton said only one business is located in an area zoned for adult entertainment. It's the site of an adult video and sex toy shop opened by owners of the former Club Erotica on Emery Highway.
She said the requirements to become zoned for adult entertainment are extensive and keep many prospective businesses from ever opening their doors. Prospective adult entertainment venues are limited in their proximity to churches, schools, homes, recreation areas, liquor stores and more, Doveton said.
"It's kind of difficult," she said.
Norman said Club Sinsations offers patrons choices.
If they want the experience of a sports bar, he said, they can remain in the front with the pool tables and TVs. If they want to see women dance, they can do that as well.
"It's entertainment," he said. "It's like two clubs in one."
Thompson said he runs a well-rounded club with women dancing in bikinis.
"You'll probably see more" at Lake Tobesofkee, he said.
