Ellington

The gentlemen’s club called Jiggles located at 5220 Roosevelt Way NE announced that it will reopen in two weeks after an immediate closure by the Seattle Superior Court on March 11. The club’s voice mail says the new opening will feature “exotic dancers and full liquor service.”

Despite the permanent injunction, the adult cabaret is currently undergoing a remodeling process before opening its doors again, but will change some of its services.

“They are planning on reopening in a couple weeks as a full bar with food service and dancers, but no lap dancing and no full nudity,” Nirvana, a former dancer, said on her Facebook fan page.

Nirvana said on her page that Jiggles owner Robert Davis has plans to buy another building with “better zoning in the next couple of months.”

The Seattle City Attorney communications director, Kimberly Mills, said in an email that the injunction is in full effect and Jiggles could not reopen until it gets all the right permits for whatever services the owner wants to provide. Until such permits are obtained, the court has the power to prohibit Jiggles from functioning as a strip club. If Jiggles continues its previous adult-cabaret business, the city has several enforcement alternatives, including contempt of court, Mills said.

In the meantime, an appeal against the injunction has been brought up by Jiggles’ attorney to the Court of Appeals. However, no definite hearing date has been scheduled.

Kristin Olson, the attorney representing the Jiggles club owner, could not be reached for comment.

On March 11, Suzanne Barnett, a superior court judge, sided with the city and shut the business down, stating that the club violates the city’s zoning requirements by being within 800 feet from where children congregate. Jiggles is situated near the University Child Development School, the YMCA, the University Heights Community Center and a City of Seattle public park.

Davis argued during the trial that the opening of an adult cabaret is protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, but Barnett rejected the claim and reaffirmed that the city has the right to disperse locations of adult cabarets, according to The Seattle Times. The court also concluded that Jiggles does not have the permit to function as an adult cabaret.

According to The Seattle Times, Davis argued he’s had the proper permits all along and that he’s been trying to “lawfully open an adult-entertainment club” in Seattle for years, but “the city has obstructed my efforts.”

Court documents also state that the closure is necessary due to concerns about public health, safety and welfare interests embodied in the Seattle city ordinance, including protection from the adverse secondary effects of strip clubs. In general, such review for development project proposals within 120 days is not an unconstitutional prior restraint.

According to The Seattle Times, Davis currently has a lawsuit pending in the U.S. District Court challenging Seattle’s law regulating the locations that strip clubs are allowed to operate.

Reach reporter Aina Nadia Rafee at news@dailyuw.com.