MEMPHIS, TN — While some may consider the existence of a strip club to be the first step in officially beautifying it, others don’t even like the idea of said strip club getting a face lift – which is why the Gold Club has been ordered to stop its building renovation. Although the county authorized a permit in November 2008 and another in January 2009 so club owner Steve Cooper could renovate his Fantasy Warehouse adult shop and expand the Gold Club, neighbors insists he hasn’t been honest about the work being done.

In response to community and press complaints, Shelby County officials have issued a stop work order on the construction projects, which citizen Julius Flatt claims includes making the strip club “twice the size of what the bookstore was.”

While Flatt admits that “Some guys might be excited about this,” he insists that he is “not one of them.”

If what Flatt and others say is true, Cooper may have a problem, since Shelby County code allows owners to renovate their property but not grow it higher or wider than it had been previously.

Cooper must now resubmit his construction plans and prove that he has no intention of expanding them beyond their current boundaries.

This is not the first time that Cooper’s business has made headlines. The owner of other clubs, including Christie’s Cabaret has previously spoke out against ultimately unsuccessful regulations that would have disallowed the sale or consumption of alcohol within such establishments and required background checks and permits for owners, dancers and all restaurant, bar and clean-up staff.

Also rattling some is the fact that Cooper’s La Italiano restaurant may turn into the Ocean Club, a surf and turf restaurant by day and dance club by night.