BLACKPOOL, ENGLAND — In the case of Chubby’s Bar, what passersby could see was more than they wanted to get. Alas for the topless club, the fact its windows allowed far more visibility than is in good taste or legal means it will get something it doesn’t want: closed. Fortunately, the doors will be locked and the lights will be turned off for a mere two weeks, but that’s long enough for the bar’s staff and owners to feel a pinch in the pocket.
In addition to closing to the public for a fortnight, the Blackpool Council demanded that Chubby’s Bar invest in some infrastructure improvements, including a method of screening its saucy interior conduct from passing traffic, including children and their families.
Not interested in a scene, the bar has closed temporarily and its management has agreed to a number of new licensing conditions. Among those will be the installation of screens located at the ground floor entrance, “to ensure that any adult entertainment taking place within that area cannot be viewed from outside the premises.”
Futhermore, all doors and windows will be required to be kept shut when adult performances are under way and topless waitresses and barmaids must keep their tops on before 6:00 pm.
According to Council licensing chair Henry Mitchell, “We are trying to attract families back to Blackpool, so we cannot have a case where adult entertainment in a bar like this can be seen by passersby.”
Mitchell, who says the move is part of the town’s overall campaign to clean itself up, “Parents do not want children to see this kind of thing when they are walking down the Promenade. Children need to be protected.”
While some may simply ponder why the sight of a nude body should be a threat to anyone, the staff of Chubby’s Bar is more concerned about their immediate fate, calling the closure unfair. One couple with five children between them confided to the Blackpool Gazette that the unexpected and unpaid two week vacation would cost them nearly $2,000 in lost wages.
In addition to the seven doormen and seven bar staff affected by the closure, employees worry that their customers will find other businesses during the next two weeks and will not be back when the doors re-open.
