Norwalk strip club faces opposition from neighborhood association

 

By Frank MacEachern
Staff Writer

 

Posted: 03/11/2009 08:21:59 PM EDT
 

NORWALK -- The owner of a city strip club wants to talk to a neighborhood group that has interceded in his quest for a liquor permit.

Gene Morrell owns The Office Cafe, at 201 Liberty Square. The establishment was previously known as Mermaid Gentlemen's Club & Spirits.

Morrell said Wednesday he wants to work out any issues the Eastern Norwalk Neighborhood Association has with his club.

"I'd like to meet with them, have dinner, so we can talk about this," he said as he stood in his darkened club at noon. "Hey, they can meet with me here if they want to."

The ENNA has filed a "remonstrance" with the state's liquor commission opposing the club's application for a liquor permit. The club has a provisional liquor permit issued Nov. 3. It was granted a three-month extension on the permit Feb. 3.

Laurel Lindstrom, the association's president, said the group isn't trying to deny the business a liquor permit. Instead, it wants to ensure the neighborhood's concerns are heard.

"We've given the owner a heads up we're out there, and we do care about the neighborhood," said Lindstrom, who also is a Common Council member. "We just wanted to really, in some ways, get a message across, if nothing else."

She said the ENNA will discuss whether it will meet with Morrell, but a lot depends on whether the association learns of any problems involving the business in the coming weeks.

"That's something we are talking about. But if we found all sorts of violations, that would take a different direction," she said. The association met Wednesday night, and the matter was on its agenda.

Morrell said there have been few problems since he opened in early November.

Sgt. Andre Velez, a media spokesman for Norwalk police, said a quick review of incident reports revealed no major disturbances or problems at the club.

Lindstrom said there have been complaints associated with the former ownership, when the club operated under the Mermaids name. The neighborhood group is tracking incidents involving the club because of its past history, she said.

"We have done that because of a history of disruptive kinds of activities that have gone on there," Lindstrom said. "This is what a good neighborhood association does."

Four years ago, Mermaids had its liquor license suspended for three days after dancers exposed themselves. The club also was fined $4,000.

John Suchy, director of the state's Liquor Control Division, said there had been complaints about Mermaids, but those incidents can't be held against the new owner. "(A hearing) has to be based on the new owner and not what has gone on before," he said.

Once a hearing is held, the Liquor Control Commission has 90 days to decide whether to issue a permit, Suchy said. No liquor permit hearing has been scheduled for The Office Cafe.

Morrell said he wants to be a good business owner in the neighborhood.

"We had some pretty cagey characters in here, but I got rid of them," he said. "I want to turn this into a gentleman's club, more upscale, because strip clubs have a bad name, I don't even want to call it a strip club; it's going to be a gentleman's sports club."

The bar will close after Sunday to remodel its interior. Morrell said the stage will be moved from its location along the wall and placed inside the enlarged bar, roughly in the center of the club. The area between the stage and the remodeled bar where the patrons sit will be where the bartenders will work, he said.

At present, there is no barrier between patrons, who sit on short chairs in a semicircle around the edge of the stage, and the dancers.

Lindstrom said if her group is satisfied the club is not causing any disruptions in the neighborhood, it may decide not to contest the business' liquor application.

"We can always opt out of a public hearing if we choose to. It may not be required," she said.

-- Staff Writer Frank MacEachern can be reached at frank.maceachern@scni.com or 750-5351.