A neighborhood strip club near downtown Phoenix, which has been closed since last summer, could reopen.
New management at Pink Rhino Cabaret, near 36th Street and Van Buren, has asked for a liquor license for the location.
Several neighbors who live across the street from the club hope it remains closed.
“It was like hell” when the club was open, Abdulahi Jama said. He lives with his family in an apartment with a direct view of the club. He recalls hearing gunfire, police sirens, and shouting when the club was open for business.
Another neighbor, Everett Johnson, said he saw sex acts in the parking lot next to the club.
Johnson and Jama said the neighborhood has been quieter since the club closed last July.
That closure came after a police raid; previous manager Carlos Aramburo pleaded guilty last month to trafficking in stolen property. He bought what he thought was stolen liquor from undercover police, according to court documents.
James W. Boyd Jr., through his business Barton Holloway Arizona, has applied for a liquor license to reopen the location.
A man who answered the phone Wednesday at Barton Holloway’s office declined to comment.
Residents have until February 16 to voice their opinion on the issuance of a new liquor license at Pink Rhino.
The instructions to do so are here.
The Phoenix City Council will then decide whether or not to recommend a liquor license for the location.
The Arizona Department of Liquor will make the final decision on the license.
