The club was operating despite live entertainment being forbidden under the current public health order. NBC 7’s Catherine Garcia has the details.
San Diego County's public health officer sent a letter on Tuesday to Pacers Showgirls, ordering it to "discontinue live entertainment."
Pacers, of course, was the strip club on Midway Drive where San Diego Padres outfielder Tommy Pham was stabbed on Sunday night after he left the club and went out to the parking lot.
Although Pacers is currently selling food and can serve diners outside or indoors -- up to 25% of capacity -- the letter from Dr. Wilma Wooten said that San Diego police recently inspected the club, which was "conducting live entertainment in violation of the State Health Order and the County Order of the Health Officer and Emergency Regulations.
Failure to comply with the order could result in a $1,000 fine per violation and criminal misdemeanor citations, Wooten said in the letter, adding that she could order the club closed if it fails to comply.
San Diego County spokesperson Michael Workman told NBC 7 that the cease-and-desist letter was not about trying to shut Pacers down. Rather, officials are just trying to enforce the county health order.
"If they have a restaurant, they can serve food and dress however they want, as long as they’re abiding by the rest of the rules," Workman said. "But no live entertainment. That means no DJ, singing or dancing onstage."
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Workman added that the club "can’t act like you’re a restaurant but doing live entertainment.”
San Diego police Lt. Shawn Takeuchi said the department had been conducting investigations of other businesses as well.
“We can’t say what other businesses, but the vice unit has conducted compliance checks on other businesses, and we’re working with the county to conduct enforcement efforts on them," Takeuchi told NBC 7.
Pham was left with a foot-long slash on his back after being stabbed outside the Midway District strip club Sunday night, according to SDPD.
Pham was "expected to make a full recovery" from the stab wound received after being attacked by a group of men outside Pacers Showgirls International at around 10:30 p.m. Sunday, SDPD said.
SDPD said the confrontation started when Pham was walking from the strip club to his vehicle in the parking lot when he noticed a group of men arguing near his vehicle. As Pham approached, one of the group's members confronted him. He tried to move the man to the side and was immediately attacked, SDPD said. Pham was pushed down to the ground and felt a sharp pain in his back.
