FRESNO, Calif. — Hustler Hollywood this afternoon opened up its newest location in Fresno.
While it unlocked its doors today, the store will have its official grand opening on Saturday, Sept. 30. The occasion will be marked by a visit from LFP founder Larry Flynt as well as Hustler Honey Melody Wylde.
The Sept. 30 event also will include food, drinks, giveaways and prizes. The first 50 customers through the door on that day will receive a Hustler Hollywood gift bag.
Opening of the store’s location, a former Silver Dollar Hofbrau, was held up for several years after Fresno city leaders attempted to put a crimp on Hustler Hollywood’s future business by limiting its product lineup.
Hustler Hollywood, which signed a 10-year lease for the 5,600-square-foot commercial space in 2015, claimed in a federal lawsuit that the store was arbitrarily and erroneously classified as an adult bookstore.
The store claimed that portions of Fresno’s municipal code constituted an unlawful prior restraint to engage in protected expression in violation of the 1st and 14th Amendments.
In the suit, Hustler Hollywood said that the city took action specifically designed to preclude it from opening by amending its municipal code.
The city’s amended version broadened the kinds of merchandise that would trigger a 25 percent threshold for regulation from books, magazines and periodicals to any merchandise deemed to be "adult material."
The new version also reflected a "new, stringent" display space requirement that had not existed prior to the amended code.
In April, industry attorney Paul Cambria, who represented Hustler Hollywood in the suit, told XBIZ that the settlement with the city of Fresno included the approval of a permit for the store, as well as his attorney’s fees, which climbed to $15,000.
Hustler Hollywood now has 23 retail stores in the U.S.
Pictured: Hustler Hollywood’s new store in Fresno, Calif.
