Attorney for Chicas Locas, set to open at location of shuttered Jaguars, says business will be in compliance with county settlement, city ordinance
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- A Latin-themed bikini night club is set to open this month at the location of the previously shut-down Jaguars Gold Club strip club. Operated by JAI Dining Services (El Paso), Inc., the new club branded as Chicas Locas will not not need a liquor license, according to an attorney representing the company.
"It's going to operate as a nightclub slash bar," said Casey Wallace, attorney and partner with Wallace & Allen, LLP based in Houston. "When I say slash bar hesitantly - the reason I say that, it's going to be a bring your own bottle, BYOB establishment. We will not serve, nor will we sell, alcoholic beverages. People will can bring their own. We're going to operate as a nightclub."
Wallace says that the new club has applied for a liquor license in accordance with the settlement terms agreed upon with the County of El Paso. As ABC-7 has reported, several law enforcement agencies served a temporary restraining order on Jaguars in February. The City and County of El Paso filed separate lawsuits over numerous alleged violations of local ordinances and licensure requirements, and hundreds of legal violations committed on the property.
A settlement with the County resulted in Jaguars shutting its doors for good, while the City's case is still pending in court. Wallace says that the new Chicas Locas will be fully in compliance with the settlement, and with the City's Sexually Oriented Business ordinance by not operating as strip club.
"We've identified it (Chicas Locas) as the number one Latin club in El Paso," Wallace said. "That's the marketing of the club, because we're not going to be a strip club. We're not going to be a topless club. We're not going to be what you might typically refer to as a gentleman's club or cabaret."
The City of El Paso issued a statement about additional legal action to be taken in their suit following ABC-7's reporting in August about questions surrounding the apparent re-opening of the property as a new business. Wallace says that the City is wrong about the business, which he says will follow all laws and will not fall under the definition of the City's ordinance.
"There will be entertainers at the club, there's no question about that," Wallace said. "But they will not be disrobed entertainers. We have not applied for a sexually oriented business permit, because we are not going to operate as a sexually oriented business."
According to Wallace, ABC-7 was the only local media outlet to reach out about the opening of Chicas Locas to RCI Holdings Inc., which owns the property at 11377 Gateway Blvd West, or RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc., which controls the brand for Chicas Locas, Jaguars, and more than two dozen other "adult nightclub brands," according to their website.
The City of El Paso declined a request for a further interview based on what the attorney representing the business behind Chicas Locas told ABC-7. In a statement, a City spokesperson said, "As the City has previously advised, we will continue to seek court intervention to impose fines on RCI Holdings for its previous violations. And we will also continue to seek injunctive relief, in hopes of preventing any future unlawful activities from occurring at the Chicas Locas location."
