Kelowna strip club wants to stay open until 3 a.m.
Operators of the Liquid Zoo, a Kelowna strip club, want to stay open an extra hour each night.
“We are confirming that an extension of operating hours until 3 a.m. would not impact the community in a negative way,” says an unsigned letter accompanying a liquor licence amendment application that was filed with the City of Kelowna last week.
“With the upcoming tourist season, the Liquid Zoo expects a record year,” it says. “Extending our operating hours to 3 a.m. will help us meet our responsibility to help maintain a safe environment for the citizens and visitors of the City of Kelowna.”
Liquid Zoo says extending the operating hours will allow cab companies more time to “lessen the congregation of individuals outside closed establishments.” It will also allow security staff to extend their supervision of customers, decreasing the need for RCMP to attend.
The Liquid Zoo has been running for 30 years and is operated by David Habib who finished third out of five candidates for Kelowna mayor last fall.
The letter says the Liquid Zoo was instrumental in creating The Standard, an association of downtown licensed premises. In 2015, that group applied to extend bar openings to 2:30 a.m. but was turned down by city council.
READ MORE: Kelowna nightclub owners want to keep booze flowing longer
The Liquid Zoo application says that in 2013 it was the first to implement Patron Scan to scan ID. It also started patting-down all patrons that year and turns over any drugs or weapons it finds to the RCMP.
The application will go to a future city council meeting for consideration but the province will make the final decision.
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