GRAND FORKS, N.D. - The owner of a controversial downtown club says he is changing the format to one that will put more clothes on the waitresses.
Larry O'Connell, owner of the UptownDowntown, said his decision is prompted by complaints and an investigation by city officials, as well as market forces. He closed the club for Christmas and will reopen Jan. 15.
The downstairs section where the waitresses' clothing was the scantiest will remain closed, he said.
City prosecutor Kristi Pettit said the club has been under investigation by police for possible violations of the city's regulations against nude, or near-nude dancing and stripping.
Pettit said there is no specific ordinance against scantily clad waitresses.
"There's nothing to prohibit that, what they can or cannot wear," she said. "The issue is whether they are performing."
The investigation was ongoing when O'Connell decided to make a change, Pettit said.
The club opened in the summer of 2004. It now will become a hip-hop dance club with a disc jockey playing music, O'Connell said. The waitresses will wear more clothing than they have been, he said.
The changes are inspired by the controversy over the waitresses, but also by the fact that the previous format was not working well and the dance format seems to be what customers want, O'Connell said.
"You go where the money is," he said.
"We are just taking a holiday break until the (college) students get back," O'Connell said. "We are in business and intend to be in business."
O'Connell has operated other clubs in the Grand Forks area in the past, and has been involved in controversy over scantily clad women.
Police shut down the Great Northern Steakhouse in neighboring East Grand Forks, Minn., in October 1993 after a performance by exotic dancers. When O'Connell promised that such performances would include enough clothing not to violate the city ordinance, he was allowed to reopen. He later sold the business.
