THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Friday, February 9, 1996               TAG: 9602090448
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: POINT HARBOR                       LENGTH: Short :   49 lines

TOPLESS CLUB REMAINS OPEN WHILE ITS OWNER APPEALS RULING

The owner of Mermaids said Thursday his nightclub will remain open and still feature topless dancers despite the state appellate court's decision last week to uphold the revocation of his operating permit.

``We have a stay from the Superior Court that says we can operate as long as we're under the appeal process,'' Robert F. London of Powells Point said.

London said he is appealing his case to the State Supreme Court. His permit to operate Mermaids was revoked by a county board in September 1994. The Currituck County Board of Adjustments said London misrepresented his business intentions when he said his Point Harbor nightclub would not feature topless dancers.

Two months after opening Mermaids in April 1994, London brought in bare-breasted female dancers for entertainment. The owner said at a previous hearing that he had believed topless dancing was illegal when he applied for a permit in 1993.

Since then, the county has severely restricted adult and sexually oriented businesses by allowing them only in heavy manufacturing districts, of which there are few in Currituck.

Adult establishments also cannot be within 1,000 feet of other dwellings, churches, public schools, day-care centers, public playgrounds, swimming pools or parks.

In addition to Mermaids, the False Alarm in Moyock will eventually have to shut down or relocate because of an amortization provision in the local law.

Mermaids appealed the county'sdecision to Superior Court and again to the North Carolina Court of Appeals.

County Attorney Bill Romm said the state court last week dismissed London's appeal and ordered Mermaids to comply with a Superior Court judge's earlier decision upholding the revocation.

Unless there is another appeal, Mermaids would be breaking the law by operating without a permit, Romm said.

``The county certainly is not going to allow any topless dancing,'' Romm said after Wednesday night's board of commissioners meeting.

London said Thursday his bar and pool hall will stay open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings until the State Supreme Court has ruled on his case.

KEYWORDS: LAWSUIT by CNB