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The best damn bar in all of Keithsburg, Illinois?
Good one for Guy Brenkman the owner of several establishments in the town Keithsburg, Illinois, including a bar called Bikini’s Bar and Grill. When potential customers read the disclaimer on his bar’s door, however, they learn that the term “bikini” only applies in a halfway kind of sense. That’s because all of Bikini’s waitress are topless.
Some local residents are ticked off about this, while others are fine with it since the bar keeps relatively quiet. But it turns out that those that are pissed can’t do anything about it because Mr. Brenkman did his homework first - he’s legally free and clear to run his business this way. There’s a local ordinance that apparently limits the liquor license for strip clubs, but the ordinance defines a strip club as a place where there is adult entertainment or “adult use.” And Mr. Brenkman’s research showed that (as with many similar laws in other localities), topless-only does not fall within this category, only all-nude does. Thus, the regular bar/liquor laws apply to Bikini’s, and nobody can pull his license. The town’s mayor, himself, has even acknowledged speaking with city lawyers and confirming that the bar would have to do something in addition to having topless servers, in order for the town to be able to pull the liquor license.
And this, boys and girls, is why it pays to do your legal homework.
