Tarrant County

All Tarrant County strip clubs outside city limits to close by 1 a.m.

Sexually oriented businesses must also have their parking lots cleared by 1:15 a.m., county commissioners say

1520571425-temptations.JPG?crop=faces,top&fit=crop&q=35&auto=enhance&w=300&h=300&fm=jpg
NBC 5 News

The Tarrant County Commissioners Court unanimously passed new rules for sexually oriented businesses in unincorporated parts of the county on Tuesday.

County commissioners on Tuesday voted to order all sexually oriented businesses outside city limits to close by 1 a.m. and to have their parking lots cleared by 1:15 a.m.

The new rules are effective immediately.

The order comes after a spate of violence at Temptations Cabaret, including a recent shooting in the parking lot that left one person dead and three others injured.

Neighbors have pushed for the strip club to close, calling it a nuisance and saying it's operating too close to homes.

Tarrant County Commissioner Manny Ramirez, who represents the area, agreed with people who have expressed concerns.

"This is a dangerous business that creates an unacceptable risk to our community and our law enforcement officers. Quite frankly, this business should have been shut down a decade ago," said Ramirez.

Tarrant County officials have notified the club's owner, Eric Langan of Bellaire, Texas, that they have scheduled a hearing for 9 a.m. June 21 with the Tarrant County Sexually Oriented Business Board to determine if there's probable cause to revoke the business's SOB permit. After the hearing, the SOB board will determine if the permit should be revoked. If the permit is revoked, the owner has 20 days to file an appeal.

NBC 5 attempted to reach Langan for comment last week but the messages have not been returned.

The Tarrant County Sheriff's Office said last week that between 2020-2022 there were more than 240 calls for service at the club, including 134 in 2022 alone. This year, the sheriff's office has responded to 82 calls for service at the club.

"It is absolutely a problem. It is a blight on the community. There is always issues going on out there," said Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn. "It’s a dangerous area. It attracts danger. It’s BYOB, so we’ve got alcohol there. We’ve got drugs. All of the elements of a recipe that will go bad."

Prior to the fatal shooting of a gunman who injured three others on May 28, the Tarrant County DA said a double stabbing and multiple other shootings were reported at the club earlier in the month, including five instances of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. In August 2020 a man was killed and another was injured in a shooting outside the club.

Contact Us