PASADENA – It wasn’t City Hall or outraged neighbors keeping the doors of a new strip club shut Friday night.
Owner Greg Hakopyan’s provocative plan to open the fully nude, adult cabaret at 2180 E. Foothill Blvd. in defiance of the city was delayed for hours after a fender bender held up the dancers on the San Bernardino (10) Freeway.
Regardless, Hakopyan said as one of the erotic performers came through the door, the club is open for business.
“I’m going to be open Friday, I’m going to be open through the weekend and I’m going to be open Monday and Tuesday,” Hakopyan said. “They’ll have to get a court order to shut me down.”
What had long been the shell of a former pizzeria is now “Peppermint Garden,” although Hakopyan said they had considered leaving the name “Shakey’s.”
It still resembles a defunct restaurant from the outside, where a notice of Hakopyan’s pending Thursday hearing on his permit is lashed to a chain-link fence.
Inside, mirror panels surround tables and chairs six feet away from the focal point, where a steel pole bisects a small stage.
Hakopyan said he had opened for several hours Tuesday night, one day after the City Council passed new rules foradult businesses, under which his location becomes invalid.
Those rules should go into effect after a second reading by the council on Monday and will likely be immediately challenged in court.
By operating without the necessary “expressive use” permits, the club could be running afoul of city code, but it’s not a criminal matter, according to the police.
“It’s not something we would be rushing out and acting upon,” said Pasadena police Cmdr. Paul Gales.
Not having the permits needed was a matter for code enforcement, he said, but the department would be vigilant for any illegal activity.
By opening the business, Hakopyan puts the city in the position of having to close an operating business if it acts to shut him down.
He has already sued the city twice, first after it stopped issuing the permits he applied for and again when City Hall hastily assembled a new ordinance that effectively prevents him from doing business.
The potential of a fully nude cabaret in their neighborhood brought residents and business owners together, who have campaigned since August against the club for fear of its impact on their community, public safety and property values.
More than 5,000 signatures were collected asking for stricter rules from the city, including a 500-foot separation requirement from residential areas.
Because the city must provide a reasonable number of sites for such businesses to operate, it drafted rules it hopes are as strict as possible and will hold up under a legal challenge in the courts.
Hakopyan, a Glendora resident, said he verified the site’s validity numerous times with the city before closing escrow on the $3.5 million property.