A new exotic dancewear store in south Cobb County has drawn pushback from at least one of its neighbors. And Cobb County has cited the Austell boutique for operating without a business license.
The shop’s owners say they have no intentions to be bad neighbors.
Black Candy is the newest tenant in the Flags Village Shopping Center in unincorporated Austell, 366 Riverside Parkway. The store specializes in racy attire, selling an assortment of customized thongs, bikinis, stilettos and lingerie.
It sits just across the road from the Premier Preschool and Childcare. That’s too close for comfort for Monica DeLancy, who lives just a half mile away from the new storefront.
DeLancy admits she thought Black Candy was a dance studio the first time she drove past the new shop. But a banner that hung outside advertising “Erotic Dancewear” quickly gave her qualm.
“Somebody’s got to say something because of the kids around here,” DeLancy said. “I want a real family-friendly community. If I was a child that lived in the community and I looked up 10 years from now, it’s on record that somebody asked questions.”
DeLancy took to Facebook on May 31 to express her misgivings about the number of liquor stores that have sprouted up in the area. She shared a picture of Black Candy with its banner prominently displayed and noted that it sat next to a day care. Nearly 200 people commented on the thread.
County officials took notice as well. Black Candy was cited Wednesday for operating without a business license and storing alcoholic beverages on unlicensed premises, Cobb County spokesman Ross Cavitt told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Friday.
Cobb County code enforcement officers and business inspectors first visited Black Candy on June 1, spurred by multiple citizen complaints. The county gave the store 10 days to obtain its business license.
The shop hadn’t obtained its license by Wednesday, when Code Enforcement and the Fire Marshal conducted a sweep on businesses in the Flags Village strip mall, Cavitt said.
George “Horseman” Durham, founder of the Black Candy franchise, told the AJC he’s in the process of getting the required license.
The store held a soft opening over Memorial Day weekend. Durham said he’s gearing up to stage an official grand opening next month after he obtains his business license.
A court date for the code enforcement citations is scheduled for July 29.
Durham said he when he got word about the DeLancy’s reservations, he removed the original sign and replaced it with a more conservative banner that read “Custom Dancewear.”
“I’m glad she brought her concerns to our attention,” Durham said. “Soon as I found out about it, I took care of it. ... To make it good and let people know that we’re with the community and we ain’t trying to cause no conflict. It’s just good business.”
DeLancy credited the owner for quickly changing the sign and said it was a big step in showing that the store’s willing to be “community friendly.”
“It’s just clothes. Nothing but clothes,” he insisted of Black Candy. “People have in their heads and think maybe it’s a sex store with (sex toys) and all kinds of crazy crap. But we don’t do nothing like that here.”
Cobb County has had issues with erotic clothing stores in the past. Tokyo Valentino’s is a “sex shop” with a footprint throughout the Metro Atlanta region. Marietta and Cobb County officials revoked the business licenses for two Tokyo Valentino’s locations last year. Both boards ruled the stores had too much sexually oriented merchandise on its shelves.
Tokyo Valentino’s owners appealed both decisions and the two locations continue to operate while litigation plays out in court.
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