Little Tokyo Strip Club Opens its Doors
By Alex Isao Herbach
RAFU STAFF WRITER
Saturday, June 2, 2007

Owners of Little Showgirls have filed suit with the city over the loss of liquor license.

MARIO G. REYES/Rafu Shimpo
A sign for Little Tokyo Showgirls at 711 Ducommon St. The club opened recently after earlier protests from local Japanese American churches and businesses.

The Little Tokyo Showgirls opened its doors quietly after months of com­munity protest delayed the strip club.

In August, the Zoning Administration awarded the club (formerly known as the Penthouse Gentleman’s Club) a condi­tional use permit for the sale of alcohol. But amid complaints by the Nishi Hong­wanji Temple and Fukui Mortuary—both of which are in close proximity to the club—and the Little Tokyo Community Council, a public hearing was scheduled before the Los Angeles Central Area Plan­ning Commission to discuss the matter. Representatives of 14th District Council­man Jose Huizar and Councilwoman Jan Perry’s offices spoke at the hearing and helped persuade the commission to re­scind the club’s liquor rights four months after it was issued.

Fallout from these remonstrations has embroiled the embattled club in even more legal commotion.

The owner has brought a $19 million lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles for the removal of the conditional use permit that he claims was legally award­ed, but revoked without due cause.

“We are suing because of the Japanese community’s [in Little Tokyo] illegal de­mand of the refusal of our liquor license,” said Max Ahmadi of SP Star Enterprises, a spokesman for his brother and club owner Mohammad. “They basically demanded our rights be violated.”

Tucked into a nondescript building on the Little Tokyo border in the Arts District, the club was conceived to bring in wealthy, VIP-type clientele to the heavily industrial area.

But the Planning Commission’s ac­tions have created problems for the owner. Without the liquor license, SP Enterprises’ high-profile business partner, Penthouse Media Group, cut ties with the club, and Mohammed was forced to change his establishment’s scheme. He reworked the club, changing its name and opening it as an 18 and over, fully nude club.

“It was going to be 21 and older, and we were going to have a classy facility,” said Max Ahmadi. “Once we lost the liquor license, Penthouse said that they were no longer interested. Now we are calling it Little Tokyo Showgirls.”

The club’s aesthetics are decidedly more Asian than originally planned. The signage is written in slanted angles with letters that appear to be cut from bam­boo. Before settling on the current name, registered two other names with the Los Angeles County clerk: Gentleman’s Club and Geisha Girls of Little Tokyo.

The shift in advertising has irked some in the Little Tokyo community.

“It’s kind of a slap in the face to the Little Tokyo community,” said Eric Kurimura of the Nishi Hongwanji. “That’s not what we’re all about.”

Keeping Little Tokyo safe and family-oriented has been the focus of many of those opposed to the club’s opening here. While its operators are hoping to attract a specific, safer clientele, some feel the late operating hours and emphasis could bring in some unwanted elements.

“There is always the potential for people who might want to behave in a way that is not considered acceptable by police or other standards,” said Senior Lead Offi­cer Steve Nichols. “Certainly it’s the hope that the club can police itself.”

Police officials said they visited the club to voice the community’s concerns and to make sure it would be in compli­ance with municipal codes when the club opened. So far there have been no illegal incidents reported to the area.

“We haven’t heard of anything. We don’t make a point of watching them,” said Tom Kamei, president of the LTCC. “When there is a complaint then we respond to it.”

Representatives from neither the Nishi nor the Fukui Mortuary have reported or seen any misconduct com­ing from the club or its periphery. The results of the lawsuit are still pending.