photo by: Rochelle Valverde

Allstars, 913 N. Second St., is pictured on Feb. 2, 2022.

The City of Lawrence has shed more light on why it is trying to shut down a local strip club that it says has been operating illegally.

In a lawsuit filed Feb. 2 in Douglas County District Court, the city alleged that Allstars has been operating without the license required for a sexually oriented entertainment business, as the Journal-World previously reported. The city also claimed Allstars is ineligible to receive such a license and requested that the court permanently prohibit Allstars’ owners from operating the strip club or any other sexually oriented entertainment business at its current location at 913 North Second St. without a valid license.

There are various provisions in city code that would make a business ineligible or disqualify it from being provided a city license for a sexually oriented entertainment business, and previously the city had not specified which of the code’s provisions it believed Allstars had violated. But in a recent court filing, the city stated that Allstars was in violation of a provision that prohibits such businesses from being located within 1,000 feet of certain properties, including schools, churches, city parks, residences and certain businesses.

Specifically, in a response filed March 25, the city states that the building Allstars is operating out of on North Second Street is not eligible for a sexually oriented business license because it is less than 1,000 feet from several residentially zoned properties and a city park, Riverfront Park. The response states that the building is less than 600 feet from the park.

The city made that argument in response to a previous filing from the property owner, Riverfront Business Park, to dismiss the case against it. The lawsuit is filed against Lawrence Entertainment Inc., which is doing business as Lawrence Allstars The Gentleman’s Club; Topeka residents Karim V. Crim and Kenneth Troupe, the owners of Lawrence Entertainment; as well as Riverfront as the property owner. Riverfront previously argued that the court should dismiss the city’s case against Riverfront, stating in part that as the property owner, Riverfront does not operate Allstars and has no relationship with Allstars other than as a leaseholder.

In its response, the city argues that even if Riverfront is nothing more than the landlord of the property, Riverfront is a proper party in the case because the city is seeking for the court to rule that the location of 913 North Second St. is not eligible for a license to operate a sexually oriented business. The city states that Riverfront was named so that it would have the opportunity to argue to the contrary, should Riverfront care to make such an argument. The city also argues that Riverfront should have to provide proof to the court regarding its contractual relationship with the other defendants.

In its original filing, the city also alleged that Allstars has been the site of “serious and numerous criminal infractions” and gives one example of a criminal infraction that recently occurred at the business. The city alleges that on Aug. 1, 2021, Allstars was the site of a call to Lawrence police because multiple weapons were discharged on the premises, and that officers were initially denied entry to the building. In a previously filed response, Crim stated that Allstars has not had out-of-the-ordinary criminal infractions and that he had no knowledge of officers being denied entry. He also stated that Lawrence Entertainment has been operating as a “bar” at its current location in Douglas County since its inception in March 2000, has not been required to obtain a sexually oriented business license from the city to this date, “and therefore has not violated the City Code.” The response also states that Lawrence Entertainment has remained compliant with all city codes known to it.

A hearing in the case has not yet been scheduled.