Spat between county, adult-oriented restaurant, heads to court

Anna Lee | The Greenville News

The latest dispute between Greenville County and an adult-oriented restaurant is expected to air out in court during a hearing Thursday.

The hearing, scheduled for 10:30 a.m. at the Greenville County Courthouse, follows a lawsuit filed by Bucks Racks & Ribs that claims the business is paying for past controversy between former occupant Platinum Plus and the county and Sheriff's Office.

A judge had ordered Platinum Plus to close in July 2016 and imposed a $100,000 fine against the strip club for alleged violations of a consent order.

The state argued Platinum Plus willfully disobeyed the conditions of a 2015 court order that defined the state of undress allowed for exotic dancers at the strip club but also prohibited simulated sex acts and fondling.

The Bucks lawsuit, filed on May 23, accuses the county of treating the business as a "sexually-orientated entertainment establishment" even though Bucks dancers don't strip or engage in "specified sexual activities."

The suit claims Greenville County adopted an ordinance amending the definition of adult cabaret to regulate establishments offering "semi-nude" entertainment after learning that Bucks Racks & Ribs would be allowed to open at the Platinum Plus location on Frontage Road.

More: Owners of Bucks Racks & Ribs file 1st Amendment suit against County, Sheriff's Office

More: Once a strip club, now a restaurant

The new ordinance allows no more than the "horizontal line across the top of the areola and extending across the width of the breast" to be shown and prohibits the "showing of the male or female buttocks."

The suit claims the county and Sheriff's Office violated court orders by ordering Bucks to cease "presenting any form of entertainment at the site, thereby silencing multiple forms of protected speech."

Further, the lawsuit claims the county's newly-passed ordinance "criminalizes conduct that was previously acceptable to Greenville County and is beyond the legitimate use of its police power."

Bucks was cited earlier this month after sheriff's deputies performing a compliance check witnessed someone "exposing an unlawful amount of flesh," said Sheriff's Office spokesman Ryan Flood.

The suit seeks a jury trial and the cost of the action, including any attorney fees.

In the meantime, Bucks has filed a motion seeking a temporary injunction or restraining order that would prohibit the county and Sheriff's Office from interfering with the restaurant's ability to operate a business similar to Platinum Plus and from taking any enforcement action to silence any form of speech on the property.

A judge will decide whether to approve the motion at the hearing Thursday.

Tesalon Felicien and Romando Dixson contributed.