Lap dancing, large crowds cost south Charlotte strip club its permit to serve alcohol
A south Charlotte strip club had its permits to serve alcohol suspended Friday after police witnessed huge crowds, lap dancing and no mask wearing at the popular venue, records show.
At least 200 patrons were packed inside Club Onyx at 5300 Old Pineville Road when a state investigator entered the business early on Nov. 1, according to the state order suspending its permits.
“Grossly exceeded capacity limitations,” Special Agent Kelly Kearns wrote in the order.
Kearns said she also saw “intimate person-to-person contact between employees and patrons, as well as between patrons.”
No sanitizing of high-touch surfaces occurred or “precautions by employees to prevent cross-contamination when serving multiple patrons,” according to Kearns’ written observations in the order issued by the N.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission.
Effective immediately, the commission suspended permits that allowed the club to serve malt beverages, fortified and unfortified wine and mixed beverages.
‘Smoking hookah’
Patrons drank alcohol in the private club and were seen “smoking hookah and sharing other handled tobacco products inside,” the agent said.
The night before, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Detective Chad Denton cited club general manager Daniel Newell for operating the club in violation of Gov. Roy Cooper’s COVID-19 executive orders, according to the commission’s order pulling the club’s permits.
Denton said the parking lot “was almost completely full, and there was a long line of patrons waiting to enter” the club.
‘Extremely long, dense line’
Early the following morning, before entering Club Onyx, Kearns said she saw “an extremely long, dense line of patrons waiting to enter the establishment, wrapping around the exterior of the building.
“Patrons were not practicing social distancing, and Kearns did not observe consistent use of face coverings.”
Kearns said she saw similar conditions in the club on Nov. 14.
On Nov. 17, a commission lawyer official notified the club that it was violating Cooper’s orders.
‘Eating establishment,’ manager says
When Kearns and Denton inspected the club that night, they said Newell told them the commission’s order was “too vague” and he argued that since Club Onyx also served food it was not subject to private bar restrictions under the governor’s orders.
Newell and other club officials did not reply to phone and email requests for comment by The Charlotte Observer on Saturday.
On its website, Club Onyx identifies itself as the “No. 1 Hip Hop Strip Club.”
“Welcome to Club Onyx Charlotte, the Largest Urban Gentlemen’s Club in the southeast with over 20,000 square feet of Adult Entertainment,” according to its website.
This story was originally published November 28, 2020 at 1:22 PM.