Who owns magic city in atlanta

How are businesses based on intimate dances and cash exchanges even open during a deadly pandemic? How does a strip club begin to navigate social distancing?

Adult clubs like Magic City that offer food, drink and live dance shows do not fit neatly into local government COVID guidelines and orders for restaurants and bars.

Any uncertainty about how to run the business amid the coronavirus appears exacerbated as Atlanta and Georgia officials spar on the need for stricter regulations. Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, a Democrat, responded three weeks ago to the surge in COVID cases in the Atlanta area by mandating that all residents wear face masks in public spaces and restaurants close dining rooms.

Magic City is one of many clubs that remain open in Fulton County, which has seen the highest number of coronavirus cases in Georgia: more than 17, confirmed infections and deaths. Outside the squat, silver-painted brick building in a forlorn stretch of downtown, a sign warned customers Monday that COVID necessitated new rules.

A security guard stood outside the door, raising a digital thermometer to the forehead of anyone who entered. But stepping into the windowless room, it was clear it did not have the air of a post-coronavirus strip club that might pass the protective standards of Dr. Anthony Fauci. Dancers were not neatly spaced apart.

They did not wear surgical masks or nitrile gloves. No Plexiglass separated them from patrons. There were some concessions to the deadly virus. Bartenders wore masks and one wore a face shield. A giant plastic bottle of hand sanitizer sat at the edge of the bar, largely unused. On the carpet between the bar and the H-shaped stage illuminated with blue LED strip lights, a trail of stickers spaced six feet apart urged people to keep their distance.

But early in the evening, with barely more than 30 people in the room, patrons stood shoulder to shoulder as they huddled by the tiny Magic City Kitchen to order food and pick up to-go meals.

As the DJ blasted out a rap soundtrack, dancers pressed closer to customers and customers pressed closer to dancers, whispering into their ears or grinding against them. More than three-quarters of customers, and the vast majority of dancers, were not wearing masks — and it was impossible to chat over the bass beat without getting close.

Barely half an hour before, she had parted her legs as a man stood inches from her, brushing her crotch with dollar bills. A Southern California native who went to Atlanta four months ago from Chicago, Aries said that working in the pandemic was a challenge, but she needed a job and many customers were tired of being cooped up at home.

She felt reassured that club management was proving diligent about checking the temperatures of customers and workers every day. Working the day shift from 3 to 9 p. After placing an order with the Magic City kitchen, the high-scoring Clippers guard ambled around the club, Aries said, and she was one of a few dancers who performed for him, keeping a six-foot distance. They held the bundles of money ostentatiously, lifting them up to their faces before tapping and slapping single bills on dancers who shook their bottoms.

Many nightclubs and adult entertainment clubs across the nation have struggled as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend s businesses change layouts to ensure that all customer parties remain at least six feet apart, rotate and stagger shifts, and require all staff to use cloth facing coverings. Some clubs have shuttered as staff members tested positive for COVID or local officials cited them for lack of social distancing.

In the interview, Mr. Magic gives credit to Deion Sanders and Dominique Wilkins for being the first celebrities to come and enjoy the club, and before long Deion brought the likes of MC Hammer and others to the club. Magic also discusses the importance of the Gucci Mane Vs Jeezy Verzuz battle being filmed at Magic City and explained that Apple Music and Pee from Quality Control made everything happen despite the real-life beef between the artists. The storied entrepreneur sprinkles a few business gems throughout the interview too.

Magic stresses the importance of learning your business inside and out before you build a team to scale. You got to learn everything before you start to let somebody else run it, run it. You want to know how every function works and then you can hand over the reigns. I never even thought about it. I use to do it all until I got rollin.