Michigan- Nude-dance club Deja Vu and the adult businesses next to it could be gone from Kalamazoo’s Edison neighborhood by early November.
The Kalamazoo City Commission on Monday approved a liquor license transfer that clears the way for the strip club and adjacent adult bookstore and boutique to move into the Ravine Road building occupied by the Mermaid Lounge. The Michigan Liquor Control Commission must give final approval to transfer the liquor license held by the Mermaid Lounge to Deja Vu’s owners, which a Liquor Control Commission spokesman said could happen as soon as the week of Nov. 1.
An attorney for Deja Vu said Monday that the strip club and Portage Street Adult Boutique will move into the vacant portion of the Mermaid Lounge building formerly occupied by Cues & Brews within three weeks.
A lawsuit settlement that lays out conditions for the move requires the adult businesses to relocate within 21 days of city approval of the liquor-license transfer, Deja Vu attorney Bradley Shafer said.
“It’s ready to go,” Joe Hall, operations director for Deja Vu Consulting, said of the move after Monday’s commission action.
Deja Vu, which bought the Mermaid Lounge, will operate out of the existing building until a new one can be constructed. The city has approved site plans for a 13,128-square-foot structure immediately west of the current Mermaid Lounge building on the adjacent parking lot. An adult-oriented retail store will be in the center of the building between Deja Vu, which features fully nude female performers, and a topless bar that will hold the Mermaid Lounge liquor license. State law forbids establishments with totally nude performers to serve alcohol.
Construction on the new building cannot begin until the state Liquor Control Commission approves plans for the new structure, Shafer said. The existing building will be torn down when its replacement is completed, he said.
Downtown Tomorrow Inc., the land-acquisition arm of Downtown Kalamazoo Inc., has purchased the current Deja Vu and Portage Street Adult Boutique properties on Portage Street, as well as a building occupied by the Cinema II XXX Video Screening Rooms, which will close and will not be relocated. Officials hope to redevelop that area with retail stores.
“We are so excited about it,” said Marissa Ferrari, coordinator of the Edison Mainstreet program, which is leading a revitalization effort on Portage Street. “With the relocation of the adult businesses, more and more developers are inquiring about development opportunities.”