Bucks Racks & Ribs and Greenville Bistro court ruling denies 'sexually oriented business'
The South Carolina Supreme Court has reversed circuit court rulings and granted Greenville County the ability to deny the operation of Bucks Racks & Ribs as a restaurant with "scantily clad exotic dancers."
An opinion announced Dec. 8 resolved two appeals arising from a zoning dispute between Greenville County and Greenville Bistro LLC, which operated at 805 Frontage Road between Roper Mountain and Hudson roads off Interstate 385.
The litigation began on May 23, 2017, when Greenville Bistro sued the county, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief against attempts to enforce the county's Sexually Oriented Business Code, which was established in 1995.
"The underlying dispute concerned the legality of Greenville Bistro operating Bucks Racks & Ribs as a restaurant with the added feature of scantily clad exotic dancers," state Supreme Court announced Dec. 8. "The County has appealed two circuit court rulings to this Court. In the first ruling, the circuit court temporarily enjoined the County from enforcing an ordinance to deny Greenville Bistro's desired operation of Bucks Racks & Ribs. In the second ruling, the circuit court refused to temporarily enjoin Greenville Bistro from operating Bucks Racks & Ribs as a sexually oriented business. We reverse both rulings, dissolve the temporary injunction granted to Greenville Bistro, and hold the County is entitled to temporary injunctive relief."
More: Owners of Bucks Racks & Ribs file 1st Amendment suit against County, Sheriff's Office
Opinion by Macon Atkinson on Scribd
In a suit filed May 23, 2017, Greenville Bistro and Frontage Road Associates, operator and lessee of Bucks Racks & Ribs, claimed Greenville County and Sheriff Will Lewis violated an agreement reached by prior business Platinum Plus in 2002 and again in 2015, after owners Elephant, Inc. filed a suit against the county.
The parties said in the suit that entertainment provided by Greenville Bistro constitutes free expression protected by the First Amendment.
The suit stated that while the restaurant on 805 Frontage Road has no affiliation to Elephant Inc., it does practice a "similar business" as the former occupant, and that the county treats the business as a sexual adult establishment.
Platinum Plus closed permanently under court order in 2016 after the Greenville County Sheriff's Office conducted an investigation into whether dancers at the club committed sex acts for money. The strip club was also a defendant in wrongful-death lawsuits and accused of over-serving alcohol to patrons later involved in serious wrecks, according to documents reviewed by The Greenville News.
More: What really happened at Platinum Plus?
Luke Lirot, an attorney who represents Greenville Bistro along with Oscar Bannister and Luke Burke, said Thursday his clients were disappointed with the court's decision.
"Quite honestly, their goal was to distance themselves from what appeared to be a problematic business model, if you will, from the prior business operators," Lirot said. "That was their effort — to try to run a very upscale establishment, comply with the parameters given them by the county that they felt they had the ability to do."
The group is exploring their options for next steps, Lirot said.
“We have the court’s ruling under review and are currently evaluating options for next steps. This result should help us get to a final resolution," Greenville County Attorney Mark Tollison said in an email Thursday.
Bucks Racks & Ribs has locations in Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Philadelphia and Greenville.
Check back for more on this developing story.
More: Platinum Plus Greenville ordered to close again
More: Ex-Platinum Plus dancer discusses dropped prostitution charge: 'I lost everything'
Macon Atkinson is the city watchdog reporter for The Greenville News. She's powered by long runs and strong coffee. Follow her on Twitter @maconatkinson.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Greenville County can deny Bucks Racks & Ribs, scantily clad dancers
