Another Memphis Strip Club Bites the Legal Dust

Patron's of "Showgirls," a Memphis strip club, will have to find another spot to frequent after Memphis Police and the Shelby County District Attorney General’s office successfully closed the establishment Friday on a nuisance petition.

According to court documents, criminal activity at the 3880 Lamar Avenue business including drug sales and the hiring of unlicensed security personnel made the club a public nuisance, said District Attorney General Amy Weirich, who added that the club's owner’s "open defiance of the law" left them no choice but to seek permanent closure.

Property records list the owners as Culbreath Land Company, Inc. The night of the closure, four of the club's strippers were arrested on prostitution and drug charges.

Another strip club, Babes of Babylon, located at 1575 Brooks was also closed last week for the same reasons. Officers with the Memphis Police Organized Crime Unit reportedly observed dancers engaged in sex acts in the "VIP" lounge for money and employees transact drug deals inside the club. The five month investigation led to the club's second closure in a year.

The owners of both businesses must appear before Judge Larry Potter in General Sessions Court Division 14 on Monday to respond to the allegations.

Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong vowed that his officers would continue to investigate all businesses who choose to ignore the law and become a danger or nuisance to the community.