COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
| JUNE 18, 2020 | 11A
however, has been
cially not next door
presented to the
to it — especially
city as a “bar or
where we share a
restaurant
with
property line.”
special events.”
Perry took issue,
Hennricks and Marin ar-
Top of the Bowl
gue that the business is too, with the very
spans the entirety
perfectly within its rights nature of the busi-
of the building’s
to run and is protected by ness.
upstairs,
com-
“We understand
an Oregon Supreme Court
prised
of
a
bar
that
a
business
needs
ruling on free speech, con-
area, full kitchen,
cerned community mem- to be a business. …
board and card
bers are actively seeking However, the explic-
game room and a
a resolution which would it nude dancing, the
spacious lounge
mitigate what they feel is adult, sexually-ori-
complete with a
the addition of a toxic in- ented business ac-
stage and catwalk.
gredient to the small town tivity, is something
While
Henn-
that we definitely
of about 1,100 people.
ricks and Marin
Hennricks and Marin oppose,” he said,
state that special
feel this view misrep- searching for a solu-
events will from
resents what they are tion. “There’s got to
time to time in-
be something rea-
bringing to the town.
DAMIEN SHERWOOD/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
clude both male
Still, a letter dated May sonable that we can
Aside from dancers, the night club will feature a variety of other and female nude
15 and a petition of 182 fairly exert.”
they
Perry also com- special events day-to-day including live music, Sunday poker dancers,
signatures was submit-
pointed out that
ted to the city expressing plained that he had tournaments and sports viewing parties.
the events will
concern about the nature picked up trash and
town, I’m disappointed.”
ever, City Administrator only feature topless nudity
of the business and asked beer cans after Top of the
Chamber of Commerce Steve Dahl confirmed he
that the City Council Bowl’s soft opening on Chairperson Bonnie Mor- was, in the end, directed and will, in any case, not
amend an old ordinance June 5 and that motorcy- gan expressed to the coun- by the council to draft an be the main form of enter-
or create a new one re- cles woke people in the cil her support for the ordinance creating a 500- tainment.
Aside from the dancers,
quiring “500 to 1,000 feet neighborhood after mid- 500-foot ordinance, as did foot distance between sex-
Hennricks and Marin plan
between sexually-orient- night.
Community member other commenters at the ually-oriented adult enter- to incorporate a variety of
ed adult entertainment
meeting.
tainment businesses and events into the business,
businesses from any and Myndee Ferrill then asked
Additional concerns re- churches, parks or places including Sunday poker
the
council
to
reevaluate
all churches, schools and
zoning laws and look into volved around Top of the where children congre- tournaments, burlesque
childcare facilities.”
Bowl bringing more strip gate.
shows, drag shows, live
The letter, drafted by business licensing.
clubs to town, increased
Dahl was also direct- music and sports viewing
Citing
a
statistical
in-
Jessica Cooper, “a proud
expenditures for law en- ed to assemble a citizen’s
descendent of the Cooper crease in crime rates of forcement and religious committee to develop a parties.
On top of the soft open-
12
percent
caused
by
family” residing in Drain,
freedom of speech were rule which would prevent
appealed to the town’s the opening of similarly also raised during the dis- situations such as this in ing, the establishment has
already tested out these
classic, “good old days” themed businesses, Ferrill cussion.
the future.
events on small scales.
claimed
that
laws
had
al-
charm and spirit where
“This is going to really,
“Everybody that has
childhood innocence and ready been broken by the really hurt Drain and I am Top of the Bowl Response
come here has had fun.
neighborly relations can establishment, which in- not okay with this,” said a
Hennricks and Marin We’ve had no problems,”
cluded “...the employment
be preserved.
youth leader from Drain’s have watched the contro- said Hennricks. “There’ve
of
uncertified
bouncers
The fact that Top of the
First Baptist Church. versy unfold with equal
Bowl is located adjacent to with felony records and “What about my freedom parts bewilderment and been no drug deals.
There’s no sex going on.
noise
complaints.
”
the Gateway Family Fel-
of speech or [Perry’s] amusement at what they There’s no crime.”
Ferrill
also
appealed
to
a
lowship church has been
freedom of speech as a feel are unsubsantiated at-
Part of the reason for
an added thorn in the side debate the city has already church?”
tacks on the business.
starting the night club,
had
about
the
proximity
of
of many religious resi-
The couple categorial- said Hennricks, was to be-
Several
community
food trucks to schools.
dents.
members also expressed ly reject the allegations of gin producing revenue to
“I
find
it
incredibly
sad
During the June 8 City
their desire to personally potential crime and youth
Council meeting, public that we have arguments help fund attorney fees to exposure leveled during keep the building afloat.
Initially rented from the
comments critical of the against a food market in fight any legal battle which the City Council meeting
business focused on sever- a certain location and that may result from the issue. and were mystified by the Masons, who originally
owned the building, Hen-
al concerns, including the our food trucks have to
Limitations on the time degree of local criticism nricks’ mother has operat-
proximity of the club to a be 500 feet from a school and place alcohol can be they have received.
ed the downstairs bowling
church, “the corruption of because of the fact that served were also brought
“I have no idea why,”
youth” and the possibility they’re not healthy enough up, though Mayor Jus- said Hennricks, who also alley, Family Fun Bowling,
of increased crime in the when the schools are serv- tin Cobb said the council owns the building, which for the past six years.
ing chicken nuggets and
About two years ago,
area.
would be looking for other includes the downstairs Hennricks bought the en-
Senior Pastor Ray Perry pizza,” she said. “So if we solutions.
bowling center. “I don’t tire building from the Ma-
of Gateway Family Fellow- will stand up for our chil-
“The problem with that think there’s going to be sons as they moved out.
dren’s
healthy
diets
and
ship was among the speak-
Keeping the lights on
we won’t stand up against is if we go that route, it is any of [those problems].”
ers.
Hennricks and Marin
going to affect other busi-
“We are obviously op- something that will pos- nesses as well,” he said. believe the controversy was proving a financial
posed to any kind of sibly bring in sex traffick- “There are other options.” ignited when a Facebook burden, however.
“The bowling alley
adult or sexually-oriented ing, child endangerment,
Technical
difficulties post by a family friend
business or activity go- all sorts of other things prevented a full recording alleged that the upstairs doesn’t really pay any
ing on anywhere near our that go along with that — and online streaming of business was a “strip club.” bills,” said Marin. “Bowl-
ing really isn’t that popu-
church,” he said. “Espe- frankly, being a fifth-gen- the council meeting. How-
The
establishment, lar. … To keep the bowl-
eration citizen of this
ing alley open, Jamie and
I work here for free.”
Hennricks began rent-
ing out the upstairs area
for birthday parties, wed-
dings and other parties,
“but that didn’t cut it,” she
said.
Unable to make ends
meet, the two decided to
do something different
with the space.
“And so our venture up-
stairs is hopefully to save
the whole building and
keep everything open,”
Marin said.
Hennricks also cited
her mother’s health as a
driving reason to start
bringing in more reve-
nue. Following her moth-
er’s four-way bypass heart
surgery and now facing an
upcoming leg operation,
Hennricks said the stress
on her mother of trying to
maintain the bowling alley
had become too much.
“So, she’s excited to let
us pay the bills,” said Hen-
nricks.
Oden Armstrong
Mikayla Baird
Jasmine Izucar
Top of the Bowl ob-
tained its liquor license
and was approved by
the city before Oregon’s
Club
from A1
The Rotary Club of Cottage Grove
Is pleased to announce the recipients for the
2020 Rotary Scholarships
Cottage Grove High School
COVID-19
lockdown
began in March. It has
since been waiting for the
phased reopening to allow
the business to open and
has scheduled for a grand
opening on July 3.
The recent pushback
from the community due
to the presence of nude
dancers, however, was an-
other unforseen obstacle.
Despite this, the couple
said they are determined
to push forward and are
adamant that crime will
not become an issue.
“I really don’t feel like
the crime rate is going to
change,” said Marin. “Our
target is the 20- to 40-year-
old people who leave town
[for entertainment]. And
none of them are commit-
ting crimes.”
As for the risk of youth
exposure, Hennricks and
Marin assured that the
door linking the bowling
alley to upstairs is always
locked, preventing an ac-
cidental entry to the up-
stairs business.
“Anyway, if your chil-
dren are sitting outside a
bar at 11 o’ clock at night,
then maybe you need to
be doing something about
your parenting skills,”
Marin said.
To address drunk driv-
ing, Hennricks and Marin
also purchased a shuttle
bus which will go as far as
Rice Hill to pick up people
at a truck stop.
“We will be busing
truckers here, but we will
be busing them back to
their trucks,” said Henn-
ricks. “They can’t get in
too much trouble doing
that.”
The couple also added
that they do not employ
any bouncers, and any
allegations about uncer-
tified employees were a
misunderstanding about a
doorman checking identi-
fication.
“People don’t realize,
I think, that it’s going to
bring money to the city,
too,” said Hennricks. “I
think it’s going to be a
good thing for the city.”
Marin also felt that peo-
ple would warm up to the
establishment if they knew
more about it.
“I think that anybody
that has an issue with us
needs to come by,” said
Marin. “We’ll take them
on a tour and I believe I
can change their mind
and thought process — of
what’s going on in their
heads and the rumors that
they’re hearing — just by
coming and taking a look.”
Though an ordinance is
set to be drafted restricting
Top of the Bowl’s proximi-
ty to certain areas, a memo
written by the city admin-
istrator acknowledges that
the ordinance would not
be enforceable due to an
Oregon Supreme Court
ruling, making its passing
purely symbolic.
“Based on the memo
from the attorney, I don’t
feel that we can pass an or-
dinance that would stand
up to a court case if it was
filed,” Dahl wrote in his
memo to the city.
Still, the controversy
shows no sign of ebbing
among concerned locals
and the determination of
Hennricks and Marin to
forge ahead will undoubt-
edly force the issue to the
forefront of many Drain
conversations for some
time to come.
SOUTH LANE COUNTY
FIRE & RESCUE
SAVE MONEY. SAVE LIVES.
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Congratulations on a
job well done!
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Ground Ambulance
Memberships
$65 per year
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Air Membership
$124 per year
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Call 541-942-4493 for info.
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