Temptations Cabaret, a nightclub infamous for its long history of violent incidents, lost its operating permit on Wednesday in Tarrant County.
Under the initiative of County Commissioner Manny Ramirez, the Sexually Oriented Business Permit and License Review Board convened on June 21 to address complaints of criminal activity and public disturbance levied against Temptations.
As previously reported in The Dallas Express, the club located off I-30 in West Tarrant County has long been embroiled in controversy.
Yet it came under increased scrutiny by county authorities in May after a double stabbing and a deadly shooting occurred within weeks of each other on its premises.
A nuisance lawsuit filed by the state on May 30 claimed that between 2020 and 2022, the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office arrested 57 people at the club and received more 911 calls about it than the 10 other bars and nightclubs operating in the unincorporated zone combined.
Yet the matter at the forefront of the hearing on Wednesday was whether or not the club, which had its operating permit issued in the 1970s, should be able to bypass regulations that had been passed by the county since then.
The club was namely in violation of a rule passed in the 1990s banning sexually oriented businesses within 1,000 feet of residential homes.
Speaking before the review board, the club’s lawyer Latrice Andrews argued that the establishment should be grandfathered in.
“There are other issues, I understand that, that this county wants to address,” Andrews told the board, according to Audacy. “But this is not the means of doing it.”
The review board ultimately found the grandfather clause not applicable in Temptations’ case because the club missed the deadline to renew its permit last year.
Retiring County Administrator G.K. Maenius told the review board that the club had paid the $350 fee as a new business in 2022 and thus was subject to the current rules.
“I will tell you our due diligence was incomplete, and that my office made a mistake,” Maenius said of the county allowing Temptations to operate despite it being in violation of the rules, according to Audacy.
While Temptations owner RCI Hospitality Holdings has not provided any public comment, its attorneys said they are weighing whether to appeal the board’s vote in district court, according to WFAA.
The state’s lawsuit against Temptations still stands, as the district attorney’s office told WFAA.
Trackbacks/Pingbacks