Tarrant County pulls operating license for crime-ridden strip club west of Fort Worth
Tarrant County’s sexually oriented business license and review board unanimously voted Wednesday to revoke Temptations Cabaret’s permit to operate.
The move comes after years of crime at the strip club in unincorporated Tarrant County, along with complaints from neighbors who were concerned for their safety.
Tarrant County’s sexually oriented business license and review board is a five-member body in charge of hearing appeals for permit denials for people applying for a sexually oriented business permit. One of its members, Luis Castillo, was absent from Wednesday’s meeting.
The board pulled the permit on the grounds that the business was within 1,000 feet of residences and 1,000 feet of another sexually oriented business — an adult book and video store.
At the hearing, county transportation director Randy Skinner told the board his office found 18 residences within 1,000 feet of the club.
County administrator G.K. Maenius said the county did not do its due diligence when issuing the club’s permit last year to figure out how close it was to residences. He said his office also was not aware of complaints from neighbors before it reissued Temptation’s sexually oriented business permit last summer.
Since the club does not have a liquor license, it solely relies on its sexually oriented business permit to keep its doors open.
Media reports about crime at the club and those neighbor complaints to the county commissioners brought the issue to the county’s attention, Maenius said.
In closing, county attorney and assistant district attorney Mark Kratovil said the permit should have never been issued in the first place.
But a lawyer for Temptations, Latrice Andrews, said the strip club’s permit has been renewed for years and that the sudden decision use the sexually oriented business board in order to pull the permit was inequitable.
The county’s board has been around since the 1990s, though it has not met since 2009, a county spokesperson said.
Andrews argued that the permit was grandfathered and continuously approved by the county. But because of the club’s failure to meet application deadlines, county lawyers said the argument was void because the club was issued a new license last year.
Efforts to shut down the club began after a shooting in the parking lot in May that left one dead and three injured. Those efforts have been primarily led by commissioner Manny Ramirez, who represents the area on the commissioners court.
Ramirez told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Wednesday morning that the news was “incredible” and that the permit revocation provided the relief homeowners had been pleading for for over a decade. He said he was happy to see the problem solved within 60 days of bringing the issue to the commissioners court and said it was always the right time to do the right thing.
Temptations, at 12290 Camp Bowie west just past the Fort Worth line, has been closed since the May shooting.
The state filed a public nuisance lawsuit against the club earlier this month. That lawsuit is being handled by Tarrant County district attorney Phil Sorrells.
What happens with the lawsuit given the board’s Wednesday ruling is unclear. Kratovil said Tuesday the lawsuit and the decision by the board were separate matters.
County commissioners approved new rules for sexually oriented businesses in June 6. Among those revisions to the rules are the hours businesses can operate and what time the parking lot has to be cleared.
Lawyers for Temptations said they would review the decision and figure out what to do next.
This story was originally published June 21, 2023 at 12:26 PM.
