Laws in Dubuque limit strip clubs to industrial and commercial zones and require a 1,200-foot buffer from the nearest residence or school. The owners behind The Office have found a spot in the city that meets those requirements in an old auto body shop behind a Wal-Mart.
The Office will be an upscale gentleman's club, according to the owners, and renovation crews are already at work.
"We're going to fit into the neighborhood," club manager Paula Bodish said. "We're sticking a lot of money into the building and making it presentable and look nice on the inside and out."
According to state law dancers can perform totally nude, because customers will bring their own alcohol.
The city passed its ordinance to regulate adult entertainment venues more than 20 years ago, and there are no other strip clubs in Dubuque. The only other adult entertainment business is the Adult Warehouse in downtown Dubuque.
Dubuque City Planning and Zoning Director Laura Carstens said, "We don't identify for them available sites and we can't prohibit them. It's part of freedom of speech under the 1st Amendment."
Managers said the location was difficult to find.
"It's not out in the open for everybody to see but yet you'll know where it is if you want to come visit us," Bodish said.
The Office is scheduled to open in mid-November and the club is being staffed now.