LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – Newly obtained video shows why Metro Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) officials revoked the liquor license of a downtown Louisville business.

“Thee Gentlemen’s Club” on East Market Street had it liquor license revoked on October 30, following an order from Metro ABC director Brad Silveria. According to the order, Silveria made the decision after an investigation found Thee Gentlemen’s Club violated the nudity ordinance and the NQ2 retail liquor license.

An NQ2 license is a liquor license granted to restaurants and other businesses that make more than half of their income from food sales and have a bona fide kitchen where the food is prepared.

The newly released video comes from May 1, 2024 and May 9, 2024. The video shows a Metro ABC detective going undercover to the business to investigate complaints that the “restaurant” was actually a “strip club.”

During the detective’s first visit, a woman offers him a dance. The woman is seen barely clothed and dancing on a stripper pole for some time before exposing herself to the detective.

In the video, the woman acknowledges that this violates Louisville’s nudity ordinance, which prohibits the display of any nudity in any establishment where alcohol is served.

A little later in the video, a woman offers the detective the opportunity to “touch and feel.” She also exposes her breasts to the detective, despite admitting it’s against the law.

Metro used the video along with other evidence obtained by State ABC officials to seek the revocation shortly after. The matter was brought before a hearing officer on August 13, who ultimately decided the appropriate course of action would be to issue the business with a 60-day license suspension or a $3,000 fine.

In a letter to the Jefferson County District Attorney’s office, Silveria said he decided to reverse the hearing officer’s decision and issue a full revocation.

For the first time since the order was issued, WAVE News spoke with Thee Gentlemen’s Club owner, Elizabeth Johnson.

Along with a three-page response to the allegations, Johnson spoke to WAVE about the situation and why he believes he is not guilty of any of the violations.

“It’s just sad that there’s so much overrun,” Johnson said. “I feel like it’s corruption.”

Johnson explained to WAVE News that she was not around when the undercover video was recorded and had no idea the activity was taking place at her own business. Johnson said Metro didn’t even notify her of the breach right after it happened.

“I had no idea — I wasn’t even made aware of the incident,” Johnson said. “You know a month later before someone says something I believe.”

Johnson points to the company he hired to manage the business at the time — a company called “Janra.” Johnson said he hired Janra to handle day-to-day operations at the club while she worked another job as a paralegal.

Janra is a company with a small online footprint based in Henderson, Nevada. The company is often hired to manage strip clubs and other adult entertainment businesses, including “The Pony,” a former strip club in Louisville.

WAVE News has confirmed that a man named Mike Dickinson and a man named Danny “Troy” Perry work for Janra and were hired by Johnson to manage the business. In the undercover video, you can see a security guard at Thee Gentlemen’s Club wearing a shirt emblazoned with “The Pony’s” logo.

The Pony’s Instagram page shows that the two clubs both had similar signs outside.

Johnson says she and Janra have since split up.

Perry is seen in the undercover video captured by the Metro detective. Johnson claims the incident in the video was a one-off and that it was Perry’s responsibility to make sure no dancers were breaking local laws.

Similar testimony was given by Mike Dickinson during the Aug. 13 hearing, although when contacted by WAVE News for this story, Dickinson was told that he and Janra could not comment on the matter.

Johnson disagrees with the idea from Metro or the neighbors that they shouldn’t have let the behavior continue because they didn’t know about it. WAVE previously spoke with several neighbors and residents of Mercantile Heights; they had written several letters before the club opened, warning ABC officials not to grant the business a liquor license for fear it would become a strip club.

“This was meant to be a sports bar, like Hooters or Twin Peaks,” Johnson said. “But they wouldn’t have given it a chance, the apartment people. They started this.”

Johnson was also asked about her alleged affiliation with other adult entertainment businesses in the city and with figures in the adult entertainment scene. She denied all the allegations.

Previous coverage from WAVE reported that Johnson originally applied for a liquor license under the name “Market Street Bar & Grill” LLC. After allegations from neighbors, Metro ABC officials made her sign an affidavit before opening her business, swearing that it would not be an adult entertainment venue and that the business and its entities had “no affiliation” with entertainment for adults.

“Market Street Bar & Grill, LLC, its agents, officers, members and managers are not affiliated with or owned by Nulu Bar, LLC, Eddie Cardine or Fred Johnson, and none of those parties will participate in any management activities of the company. business nor receive any profit from it”, the affidavit says. “I further declare that no adult entertainment activities will be permitted on the premises.”

WAVE News has confirmed that the aforementioned Eddie Cardine is the former owner of “The Pony.”

Johnson told WAVE News that “Fred Johnson” is her father and that she and Cardine had a personal relationship, although she and her attorney maintain that the word “affiliated” as mentioned in the affidavit refers only to to a business relationship.

Johnson did not dispute, however, that “managers” at Janra violated the terms of the affidavit by allowing the alleged nudity to take place in her restaurant. She says it had nothing to do with her and that was one of the reasons she fired the company.

“I just want to be clear that I was not involved,” Johnson said. “There was no secret partnership and we hired a management company that we thought would get the job done. That’s what it boils down to.”

Johnson told WAVE News that she does not plan to appeal Metro ABC’s decision, despite her reservations.

Copyright 2024 WAVE. All rights reserved.