Club Planning to Reopen Without Exotic Dancers

The Santa Clarita Valley’s only exotic dance club, shut down by authorities last week because it lacked the necessary operating permits, may reopen Monday, but customers who show up to watch the female dancers will be disappointed.

The owner of Castaic Junction: A Gentleman’s Club plans to operate the establishment as a restaurant and lounge--without the exotic dancers--until an entertainment permit is obtained from Los Angeles County, said Tracey Jones, the club’s bookkeeper.

“I don’t know how long that will take,” she said. “All I know is we’re working on it as fast as we can.”

A sign on the club’s door asked customers to call a phone number for a recorded message about the club’s reopening. That recording also said club operators plan to reopen Monday.

Sheriff’s deputies closed the club Thursday--less than a month after it opened--when county investigators learned that it did not have the proper food or entertainment permits.

An investigation into the club, located just north of Six Flags Magic Mountain, was sparked by a complaint from a resident, said Dwight Andersen, assistant division manager for the county’s Department of Treasurer-Tax Collector.

Club owner Stuart Cadwell applied for a license to serve food in mid-June, but several county agencies must give their approval before it is issued, Andersen said. There is no average approval time for food licenses, and he does not know if Cadwell’s license will be approved by Monday, he said.

Investigators were caught off guard when they visited the club and learned about the dancers, since Cadwell had indicated that he was simply opening a restaurant, Andersen said.

Cadwell applied for an entertainment permit in mid-July. Andersen said processing that permit will probably require one to two months and will include a public hearing, which has not yet been scheduled.

Controversy has surrounded the club since its June 30 opening, when it featured nude dancing in an alcohol-free environment. The Newhall Land & Farming Co., which owns the building, went to court and obtained a restraining order the next day that forces the dancers to wear bikinis.

Newhall Land officials claimed in court that the establishment violated its lease and that an exotic dance club was inappropriate for a family-oriented community.

Dozens of complaints have poured into Newhall Land and county officials since the club’s opening.