Waterloo juice bar dispute may go to court

A potential legal battle is brewing between Waterloo city leaders and a local businessman who want to open a “juice bar” that’ll feature nude dancers. Entrepreneur Earl Baugh wants to open an adult club featuring nude dancers in a commercial section of town not far from the Waterloo Airport, but the Waterloo Board of Adjustment has voted three-to-two to turn down his request. The business would skirt Iowa’s liquor laws that ban nude dancing by serving non-alcoholic beverages — making it a so-called “juice bar.” Baugh’s business meets all zoning requirements and restrictions in the Waterloo City Code, but the Board that denied his bid to open the juice bar say they turned down his request because already-existing businesses nearby complained. Baugh runs a dry-cleaning business in Waterloo and he plans to ask a judge to intervene in the juice bar dispute.