Wichita takes the erotic out of an erotic sports bar

A south Wichita club that bills itself as an erotic sports bar will have to lose the erotic part if it wants to reopen, the City Council ruled Tuesday.

The council voted to deny an entertainment permit to Vixen’s Erotic Sports Bar at 212 E. Harry, meaning it could still operate as a bar, but without any live music, DJs or erotic dancing.

The decision came after an earlier hearing in which the police department said the bar owner, Jeran Trotter, had allowed illegal activity there.

The police had conducted an undercover investigation of the bar and found that on several occasions from April to August, female employees had exposed their breasts to customers for tips. That’s a violation of the city’s public nudity ordinance.

Trotter declined to testify during Tuesday’s meeting, and Mayor Jeff Longwell ruled he couldn’t file a statement without standing for cross-examination by a city lawyer.

After the meeting, Trotter said the police reports were wrong.

“I don’t allow any of that stuff going on in my business,” he said. “It’s a lot of made-up stuff.”

The council also ruled that the club had allowed non-employees inside after the city-mandated 2 a.m. closing time. And officers doing a club check weren’t allowed to enter through the front door, which was allegedly broken, a violation of the fire code, the council ruled.

The club has been closed since September, when Police Chief Gordon Ramsay denied renewal of its license.

Tuesday’s action followed a five-hour hearing on Oct. 23. The council deliberated in closed session for about 15 minutes before voting 7-0 to uphold Ramsay’s denial of the bar’s entertainment license.

After the meeting, Trotter and his lawyer Chris O’Hara, said they’ll appeal the case to district court.

O’Hara complained that the council had allowed hearsay testimony from officers who allegedly witnessed the violations, but didn’t allow hearsay testimony from bar management.

Mayor Jeff Longwell ruled that was allowed to protect the identity of undercover police officers, but Trotter was available to testify under oath if he wanted to do that.

O’Hara also said he thinks the process is unfair, because the police department is both the investigating body and the agency that gets to decide whether to approve or deny permits.

He said none of the alleged violations had resulted in criminal charges and that the city should have given Trotter an opportunity to correct problems at the bar before yanking its license.

This story was originally published November 20, 2018 at 11:36 AM.