Keithsburg topless bar, Tastee Freez close
Owner plans demolition of site
Advertisement
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
KEITHSBURG - A note at the door apparently spells the end of a controversial topless bar in Keithsburg. The sign appeared last week at Bikini's Bar and Grill and the owner - Guy Brenkman - even indicates the property will be demolished. Brenkman also has shut down other interests in Keithsburg, including the River City Tastee Freez and has let city officials know he is no longer interested in moving forward on a marina project."The religious zealots that have boycotted and caused problems can be thanked for Keithsburg losing this business and the sales tax revenues and jobs associated with it," read Brenkman's note at the door. "When this building is demolished in the near future, there will never be a dollar earned for Keithsburg from it again."
Brenkman could not be reached for comment.
Brenkman listed the Tastee Freez property and a building that houses four storefronts for sale in a local weekly newspaper earlier this month. Bikini's, which was the former Lighthouse Restuarant, was not included.
The establishment has created a whirlwind of controversy since its opening last winter. Brenkman, a former Peoria railroad executive, originally opened the business under the premise that servers would be working in bikinis. But by this summer, the servers turned out to be topless dancers and that lead to a public outcry and a volatile Keithsburg City Council meeting on July 10. About 70 people crammed into council chambers to hear a 30-minute presentation by the Rev. Frank Mack.
"I just don't want Keithsburg to become a cesspool," Mack said that night. "I want it to be a clean environment for our kids and I think this type of entertainment is wrong. There may be a place for it, but that place is not in Keithsburg. The man cannot keep his word. He keeps changing the rules and a lot of people are wondering where does he go from topless. What comes next?"
Just over a month later that question has apparently been answered with Brenkman threatening a wrecking ball.
