Crowd protests Showgirls opening

By: ADAM KAYE - Staff Writer | Friday, October 8, 2004 11:23 PM PDT ∞

ENCINITAS ---- About 30 adults and a dozen young children assembled Friday to protest the opening of Fantasy Showgirls on Encinitas Boulevard. The demonstrators brought handwritten placards and angry dispositions. They said they objected to the launch of a business where scantily clad women dance suggestively, for tips, for their male patrons.

A flier opponents have circulated to rally their neighbors calls the place a "strip club."

Children hoisted signs and cried in unison: "This is Encinitas! Not Las Vegas." Others held signs that said, "No sleaze," or "Does your wife know you're here?"

One of the adults, Kevin Smith of Encinitas, confronted patrons as they attempted to enter the front door. Most customers ignored him.

"Don't give 'em your business," Smith said. "If you need that, go down to Rosecrans," he said, referring to a street in San Diego where many topless bars operate. "You're contributing to the downfall of our neighborhood."

The venue on Encinitas Boulevard at Village Square Drive opened in 2001 as Fat Katz Bar & Grill. During a routine, $15 renewal of a city business license, owners Stevan R. Jaffe and Walter A. Haffling added the name Fantasy Showgirls to the city form.

Officials from City Hall and the San Diego County Sheriff's Department have said they are investigating the business for possible violations of Encinitas' Municipal Code.

Jaffe would not offer details about the business Friday, saying he was busy. He said, however, that dancers would not expose their breasts.

"You can't do that here," Jaffe said.

During the late afternoon, the crowd of protesters outnumbered the crowd inside the venue.

On the stage, a dancer flung herself around a brass pole and brought her cleavage within inches of a patron's nose.

Across the room, in the comfort of semi-enclosed, upholstered booths, men ordered the services of private dancers.

"What's wrong with having a couple of beers and seeing a couple of girls?" said Chris Revels, a tile setter from Cardiff. "They opened a Home Depot, and no one wanted that, but they all shop there."

Revels and his friend, Craig Stewart of Cardiff, said they appreciated having the business in Encinitas so they would not have to travel to Oceanside or San Diego for such entertainment.

"It's something this city needs," Stewart said.

Protesters wholeheartedly disagreed.

Steve Schechter, who owns a business two doors away, called Natural Healing Institute, said he has told his landlord he will move if Fantasy Showgirls stays open.

"Encinitas has billed itself as a town with a high quality of life," he said. "My business is to promote health and healing. (Showgirls) is the last thing I want."

Contact staff writer Adam Kaye at (760) 943-2312 or akaye@nctimes.com.