- Ryan T. Hicks
- Jiggles: the view on Roosevelt
Speaking openly about the city’s lawsuit against him for the first time, Bob Davis, owner of Jiggles Gentlemen’s Club, says he’s had the necessary permits to operate a strip club in the space since 2007—before a citywide rule regulating where strip clubs could operate was imposed.
“No matter what the rules are, we don’t feel we’re affecting the school one iota,” says Davis, responding to claims that Jiggles will corrupt the impressionable children congregating in the public places around his club.
In its lawsuit against Jiggles, the city argues that the strip club, located at 5220 Roosevelt Way NE, violates a city ordinance that creates an 800-foot buffer zone between strip clubs and places where children congregate. Meanwhile, Jiggles is located across the street from the University Child Development School and within 800 feet of a nearby YMCA, community center, and a public park, in direct violation of this ordinance. The city also argues that Davis failed to obtain an adult cabaret license before opening in December 2010.
But Davis argues that the city’s request for an adult cabaret license is bogus. He says he’s had an adult premises license for the space, which allows him to operate a strip club, since 2007. This dates back to when the space was still Giggles Comedy Club. Each year, Davis has faithfully renewed this permit and each year, he says, the city has cashed his checks. In essence, he’s arguing that he should be grandfathered past the new(ish) dispersion ordinance, but Davis would not comment directly on the specifics of his court case.
This is not Davis’s first strip club head-butt with the city. “I have a 100 percent track-record” winning cases against the city, Davis says. His biggest victory was in overturning the city’s 17-year “temporary” moratorium on new strip clubs in 2005. He also won a lawsuit against the city for delaying the permits for a strip club at Cyndy’s House of Pancakes on Aurora.
Despite the ongoing legal drama, Jiggles is currently open for business. Some neighbors quietly support it, some vocally oppose it, but interestingly enough, the majority of people—like the Roosevelt Neighborhood Association—aren’t openly taking sides.
“It’s ironic that a strip club is sued in order to protect children, but a Catholic church is left alone” joked an employee working in the area, who wished to remain anonymous. He added, “strippers don’t molest kids; they only molest your wallet.” But down the street, another business owner (who also wished to remain anonymous) would be happy to see the club gone. “It’s a crock of shit the city hasn’t shut it down yet.” He believes the real motive behind Davis opening the club in the first place was to win another settlement and collect damages, like he has in the past. This is a good question: Davis has almost made a second career out of challenging the city’s archaic strip club rules. He must’ve opened Jiggles knowing, or at least suspecting, the city would attempt to shut him down.
But Davis sidesteps this argument. He says his only objective is to “operate without harassment from the city.” Davis says that his goal wasn’t to challenge the dispersion ordinance. He says that the city has a right to restrict where strip clubs open (but frankly, this response rings false considering he opened the club knowing he’d be in violation of city restrictions).
What frustrates him most is that city officials renewed his adult premises license five times, each time collecting the licensing fee, but now they’re trying to shut him down on the grounds that his permits aren’t valid. The real story, he says, is “city government is dysfunctional.”
There will be a March 4 hearing of the case in King County Superior Court.
I think Davis should just open up a strip club right inside of an elementary school.
But if the strip club has to go then so does the catholic church. If we are going to protect our children then let’s be consistant.
Leave Jiggles alone!
I personally would never bother going to a strip club, what with free naked chicks on the internet and all, but this whole “across the street from a school” excuse is misguided. School gets out at 3 or something and Jiggles doesn’t open until 6pm. There are no racy posters outside of Jiggles, the windows are mirrors, there’s no way any kid is going to get a peak inside. Let him have his business, it’s better than Seattle getting sued and having to pay out, which just means more taxes for you and me. Let him be taxed instead, and provide jobs for his staff and security. I live right down the street and have no problem with Jiggles at all.
But if children see women who are at other times and places naked they will be destroyed. Damaged beyond recognition. Without the constant vigilance of airlock parents children will become aware of human sexuality before the naturally ordained age of thirty, and that can’t be allowed to happen.
But really, I blame the parents, who should be escorting their students directly from the classroom to the SUV and whisking them straight home to their basement practice rooms, not letting them hang around outside, bumming cigars off of these porn performers.
Being a horrible parent will scar those kids far more than seeing a naked woman or hearing a naughty joke.
Overturning outdated puritanical ordnances while making a healthy profit at the same time? Sounds like he’s doing god’s work, to me.
Kids who go to Whittier Elementary in Ballard get to walk home past the Sands on the corner of 15th and 75th. The most I ever thought when I was a kid was “show girls what?”
Yes, because other than Jiggles, the U-District is a pristine environment, 100% free of any vice that might damage the psyche of impressionable children.
* eyeroll *
I have zero problem with all of these things:
1) cute girls in skimpy clothing
2) trolling the city government
3) wasting as money tax payer money as possible via aforementioned trolling
If I lived or worked in the U-district I’d be more worried about the UW crime alerts that steadily flow into my washington.edu email box. All those homeless kids give much less of a fuck than your average stripper.
And I’d rather live next to a strip club and a boarding house for teenage methheads than within a mile of a single fraternity. Fraternities are infinitely more disgusting to me than any strip club.
Grow up U-district. Grow up Seattle. Good work Mr. Davis.
Keep on Jigglin’
If you put this to a popular vote, my sense is that Jiggles would win in a landslide.
@11 good thing we live in a Republic and not a Democracy then, @11.
I would realllllly like to know who the fuck the business owner who said: “It’s a crock of shit the city hasn’t shut it down yet.”
because I want to make sure I’m not supporting their business.
Any guesses? only thing I can think of is either the Foam Shop, The typing school or perhaps the chiropractor?
I highly doubt it is the cat adoption place though, but I would be devastated if it was….(insert pussy joke here)
Jiggles should be shut down for its horrible name.