Plans for a combination seafood restaurant and adult entertainment business in Johnstown have been called off after city officials raised concerns about a proposed “Crabhouse Lounge” in a residential neighborhood.
City officials said they learned about the plan Tuesday after Facebook posts circulated about a business along Strayer Street in the West End of Johnstown. The posts, made by a man renting a home there, said the “Crabhouse Lounge” would be opening May 1st with strippers and seafood.
Neighbors expressed worry about the possibility, and the property owner, who is renting the home to the man behind the plan , said she would not allow it because it would get her in trouble with the city.
Johnstown’s police chief, city manager and mayor began looking into the plan after learning about it. They say they learned it was trying to operate out of a home in a residential zone.
City Manager Art Martynuska said the city had not received any paperwork related to the proposal.
“We didn’t see anything come across out desk for any permitting or any licensing so it raised some concerns that if a business is going in we expect them to do things they need to do from a requirement and regulatory standpoint,” Martynuska said.
Mayor Rev. Sylvia King said city leaders also considered how such a business could affect the surrounding community.
“We have to be cognizant the decisions that we make not only affect us but affect others around us. And especially we have to be concerned about what our children see,” King said.
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The man who had planned the lounge declined to go on camera but said he was only going to sell seafood platters and that nothing else would be sold. He said he viewed it more as a hangout or gathering than a business, but said the plan is now officially canceled.