Neighbors outraged over possible opening of strip club in small mountain community

CENTRAL CITY, Colorado – Neighbors in Central City are outraged that a strip club may be opening on their main street.

Peter Droege was born and raised in the small community 35 miles west of Denver and never thought he would want to move, but the possibility of a new business opening on Main Street is making him change his mind.

“I will sell my property and move,” Droege said, making clear his stance on the possible opening of a strip club this year.

Eric Langan is president and CEO of RCI Hospitality Holdings, a company known nationally for its restaurants and strip clubs. The company already operates several locations in Colorado.

According to Gilpin County Assessor’s records, Langan’s company purchased 130 Main Street in Central City in 2022 for just over $2 million with the intention of opening a cabaret and steakhouse.

“There are people who come here to gamble. They stay in their hotel rooms. They’re on a winning streak at blackjack and they want to take a break. So what do you do? I’ll tell you what you do here. You go to your hotel room and sleep or you drive back to Denver. Right? I mean, there’s not a lot of entertainment here,” Langan said, explaining the appeal of opening a cabaret in a town of about 800 people.

RCI had previously applied for a gaming license to open a casino in the building, but Langan said the company recently withdrew the application.

Many Central City residents felt that if a casino was part of the plan, a strip club was not part of the plan. However, Langan told Denver7 that the strip club was always part of the planned business.

Under Central City’s current ordinance, sexually-oriented businesses, including adult cabarets, must be located more than 1,000 feet from “other sexually-oriented businesses, residential property, residential neighborhood boundaries, schools, public parks and child care centers within city limits, and places of assembly.”

On May 21, the Central City Council had two motions on its agenda to amend the zoning code that would reduce the setback to 150 feet. Before the council could take action, Mayor Jeremy Fey moved to adjourn the motions following public outrage at the meeting.

“I like the economic or potential economic impact, but … I’m not necessarily a fan of strip clubs. I went to a lot of them in my earlier years, but I don’t anymore,” said Fey, who has been mayor of Central City for nearly six years.

When the Planning Commission first considered changing the ordinance in 2022, community members reacted negatively.

“I think RCI has been around long enough that, to be honest, there wouldn’t be as much resentment and anger about it. That’s something to have expectations,” Fey said when asked why he thought neighbors would react differently this year.

Last month, two community members filed a complaint against the mayor with Colorado’s independent ethics commission, citing his personal relationship with Langan. Fey confirmed to Denver7 Investigates that he considered Langan a friend and flew with him to Texas on an RCI-owned plane.

The mayor said he would abstain from voting on all votes involving Langan’s business, including a vote on amending the land use ordinance.

Langan owns several other buildings in Central City. According to Denver7’s reporting partners at the Denver Post, one of RCI’s Denver businesses, PT’s Showroom, was forced to close for two weeks after “an undercover police operation revealed that the dancers there were engaging in prostitution.”

When asked, Langan said he had “nothing” to say to community members in Central City who were concerned about the operation.

“They want the city to stay the way it is forever. But that can’t happen. It’s… It’s decaying. Every year, historic buildings are lost,” Langan said.

Fey acknowledged that it was “concerning” if a change in the zoning ordinance could encourage other sexually oriented businesses to fill the many vacant buildings on Main Street.

“To be honest, I’m having a hard time processing this,” Fey said.

The city’s planning commission is holding a working session Wednesday evening and will discuss sexually oriented businesses, according to the agenda.

Denver7