Court Asked to Ban Liquor at Nude Bar : Law: State wants sale of alcohol halted at Santa Ana site. Club contends bar, nude entertainment are kept separate.

The state is seeking a restraining order prohibiting the oldest topless bar in the city from selling alcohol while providing live nude entertainment.

The Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Department filed the request in Superior Court in Santa Ana last week hoping to close down Paddy Murphy’s, which continued to operate pending appeals on their revoked liquor license.

Thomas Scheerer, the deputy attorney general prosecuting the case, said it is illegal in the state to sell alcohol in a place that stages nude dancing.

“They’re running into problems because they are selling martinis to the customers instead of 7-Ups,” he said.

Paddy Murphy’s lawyer Ronald Talmo contended the state agency has no right interfering with the bar’s business because the portion of the establishment that offers nude dancers is separate from the rest of the business that provides topless dancers and a full bar.

“We have separate entrances,” Talmo said. “You have to physically go outside to get to the other side.” The ABC denied the bar’s request to allow one area of the business for nude dancing without the sale of liquor last year, contending the area where the nude dancing takes place is part of the same business.

“We found they were using the same performers in the topless and nude portions. They had one DJ for both locations, one restroom for patrons of both sections and one dressing room,” said Dale Rasmussen, district administrator of ABC.

Paddy Murphy’s has been the focal point for residents opposed to the growth of adult entertainment in the county.