A Southern California strip club was forced to close its doors after reportedly violating the state's coronavirus shutdown order, TMZ reports.
Bliss Showgirls, located in the Avocado Heights community, shared an Instagram post earlier this week announcing it would remain open, despite the statewide directive for all "nonessential" businesses to shut down amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Attention, Bliss Showgirls will be open," the message read. "Want to stay away from corona, we got 10 min, 15 min, and 25 min quarantines with your favorite showgirl."
The owner of the club told Fox 11 that the strip club has been closed since Thursday, and the Instagram posts were shared by a former employee who was terminated well before California declared a state of emergency.
"We are taking the safety of our employees and customers very serious. I closed my doors Thursday after hearing about the shutdown," the owner said. "Had security outside the club for a few nights after my Instagram account got hacked the next morning with invites being sent out which was through a dancer who used to run the page who got fired months ago."
However, after sending reporters undercover to the establishment, Fox 11 reported that patrons were seen outside the establishment Friday, getting their temperatures checked before gaining entrance. When the outlet reached out to the establishment for an explanation, the owner reportedly responded: "You can lose my number, cause I have no further comment."
The Bliss Showgirls Instagram account shared a photo Friday of a sign posted on their door: "Sorry we're closed. The wheels fell off."
The person who operates the account has maintained that the established "was not forced to shut down," and has not been operating since last Saturday.
L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva told Fox 11 that authorities have received a number of reports about businesses refusing to comply with the state's shelter-in-place order, which temporarily shuts down all non-essential businesses.
"We’ve received complaints on particular businesses that have not been adhering to social distancing," Villanueva said, "chief among them have been gun shops, night clubs, bars, and strip clubs, so we’ve fanned out and we’re making sure these businesses are complying."
