Nightclub mogul Peter Hafiz wants to expand his strip club empire to include what he's calling a "Topless Tap House." First, the city of Minneapolis will have to decide if a ministry above a pizza shop qualifies as a place of worship.
On Thursday, a City Council committee will confront the argument by 3 Degrees Church that the city should scuttle Hafiz's new topless bar at 415 1st Ave. N. because of a law meant to keep "sexually oriented" businesses and houses of worship more than 500 feet apart.
The clash in the Warehouse District is the second one between the Christian organization and an adult entertainment club. 3 Degrees lost that fight in 2006 when the city decided it was primarily a nightclub.
This time, lawyers representing Hafiz say 3 Degrees isn't a "religious place of assembly" because it's one tenant in a building with decidedly secular activities.
"This is a spot on the fourth floor of an office building which has law offices, a radio station, Pizza Luce and a nightclub in it," said Dennis Johnson, attorney for Hafiz, at the city's March 1 meeting of the Zoning Board of Adjustment. "It's not a building that was designed for a religious institution." After some lobbying on Hafiz's behalf from former City Council Member Gary Schiff, the board voted 5-4 in favor of approving the club. 3 Degrees appealed that decision to the City Council.
Nancy Aleksuk, senior pastor for 3 Degrees, said the vote shocked her. The IRS recognizes the group as a church, and the ordinance is there for a reason, Aleksuk said.
"We have ministered to women who have come out of the adult entertainment industry over the years," she said. "It's important for them to feel like they have a clear path of travel or a way to get to church without possibly being confronted by ex-patrons or being challenged by other people still in that industry."
Back in August 2006, her organization operated a nonalcoholic, Christian-oriented nightspot known as Club Three Degrees, and it was located at 115 N. 5th St. To its dismay, a club with totally nude dancers wanted to open nearby, and the decision fell to the City Council. Schiff joined the 10-3 vote ruling that Club Three Degrees wasn't a church under that definition.