Strip club closes in Nicollet

Owners hope to reopen tonight

By RACHEL WEDDIG

Journal Staff Writer

NICOLLET -- After operating for only four days, Nicollet's controversial strip club shut its doors Friday, but confusion remains as to why it closed.

The Mirage, a full nudity, non-alcoholic "gentlemen's club," sneaked into Nicollet last week, upsetting and angering residents.

On Monday, a piece of cardboard duct-taped on the door told customers that The Mirage is currently closed, and was signed "sorry, the management."

"The health inspector came in Friday morning, and told us we needed a permit for bottled soda and we weren't up to health codes," said a co-owner, 19-year old Matt Halley. "The bathrooms weren't up to code and we had to put in a sink behind the bar. They broke our first amendment rights, the right to assemble. They can't legally not allow our customers to come in."

However, the Nicollet/Brown County Health Inspector had a different version of why The Mirage was shut down.

"They never were legally open because they didn't have the beverage license," said Bonnie Holz. "They voluntarily closed to get the work done. We left them with orders to get the license and to get the plumbing done. If they didn't close we would have had to take legal action."

The city of Nicollet doesn't require a permit for selling bottled soda.

"Cities can have a policy for issuing soft-drink licenses, but Nicollet does not," said Nicollet City Administrator Dan Wietecha. "There may be some sort of misunderstanding between the owners and the health inspectors. If she's referring to a license through the county or the state, I couldn't address that."

Wietecha said he has requested a copy of the citation for The Mirage but hasn't received one yet.

Holz said they didn't discriminate against the owners of The Mirage -- she said they just need to buy a beverage license and correct the health code violations.

"Once they get the work done they can get the license and can reopen," Holz said.

Halley feels he and his partner, 20-year old Dave Benzinger, are being targeted for the nature of the business and because of their ages.

"They think we're young and we don't have any money. They think we're young and can mess with us," Halley said. "But we have the best lawyer in the Midwest for adult entertainment. We'll let them do what they do but when they screw up and break your rights, they're in trouble."

The Mirage is being represented by Randall Tigue, an entertainment lawyer based in Minneapolis who is known for defending first amendment rights and adult entertainment businesses. Tigue represented Pure Pleasure, an adult book and novelty store in Mankato during a controversy over a billboard sign.

"You can't discriminate against a business, just like you can't discriminate against an individual," Halley said. "We knew they'd mess with us. The sheriff was out here on Friday an hour before we opened telling people to go away, but we opened up anyways and then got shut down."

Nicollet County Sheriff Jim Kollmann was informed Friday morning that due to some health concerns The Mirage was ordered to close.

"The owners were told to shut down, but they tried to open Friday night and we had to go in and tell the few people in there to leave and told the owners they had to keep the doors closed," Kollmann said.

Since Holz said The Mirage voluntarily closed its doors Friday, she didn't know why the sheriff was there Friday night ordering people to leave.

"I don't know why, that's a very good point," Holz said. "He was with our health inspector Friday morning, so he knew that The Mirage wasn't legally supposed to be open."

Halley said they have pretty much taken care of the health code violations. The Mirage now has hot water, and soap and paper towels in the men's and women's bathrooms. There is a sink behind the beverage counter. The hot water heater is moved to a more appropriate location. The building has a soap and mop bucket available. The bathrooms are also close to being handicapped-accessible. Halley said they also will get yellow lines painted for parking spaces.

Halley hopes that after a health inspector examines The Mirage this morning, he will be able to reopen tonight.