Tarrant County drops public nuisance lawsuit against Temptations Cabaret property owners
The Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office dropped all civil claims Monday against the company that leased its property to strip club Temptations Cabaret, which county officials and residents denounced as a crime hotspot.
Queen Shiva, the company that owns the property where the now-permanently closed Temptations was located off Interstate-30, agreed earlier this year not to use the property at all for six months — an agreement that expired Monday. In its latest court filing, the DA’s office says it has “reached an amicable resolution” with Queen Shiva and dismissed its claims against the Fort Worth-based company while still leaving the order for Temptations’ closure in place.
“Although Queen Shiva may now occupy or use the property, it cannot sell or lease it to Temptations, or anyone affiliated with it,” the DA’s office said in a statement to KERA News. “It also cannot sell or lease the property to any person or entity engaged in the same or similar business as Temptations.”
The state filed the public nuisance lawsuit against Temptations in May 2023, shortly after a Memorial Day weekend shooting that left one person dead. Police received 134 calls for service Temptations in 2022 — more than 10 other bars in unincorporated Tarrant County combined, according to the suit.
The county pushed for the club’s closure as well. A Tarrant County board revoked Temptations’ business permit in June 2023 because the strip club was operating within 1,000 feet of a residence, which violates county rules.
A permanent injunction reached in September barred Temptations from operating for a year but stated the club could later reopen if it followed certain rules, including requirements that the club hire at least seven licensed and armed security guards on the premises and require visitors to go through a metal detector.
Temptations ultimately vacated the property, the DA’s office said. Attorneys for Queen Shiva and Temptations did not respond to requests for comment.
Precinct 4 Commissioner Manny Ramirez said his office is pleased with the lawsuit’s outcome. Ramirez, a former Fort Worth police officer, said he once dealt with calls to the Temptations area and expects nearby residents are relieved.
“There’s a sigh of relief for them in that they don’t have to worry about the criminal element that that business brought to their community,” he told KERA News Monday.
The club could theoretically open elsewhere in the county, but it would still have to follow regulations and remain more than 1,000 feet away from residences and other sexually oriented businesses.
Tarrant County commissioners also adopted regulations last year that require strip clubs in unincorporated parts of the county to close by 1 a.m., inspired by problems at Temptations.
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