MEMPHIS, TN (abc24.com) - The co-owner of Club Club Crave is speaking out, claiming the long trail of violence that has long been associated with the club is simply not his fault.
"This whole situation is stressful for me, just like it is affecting the city it is affecting my livelihood as well." said Randy Williams, co-owner of Club Crave in an exclusive interview with abc24.com.
Williams, and his twin brother Rodney, say the violence, including the more than 50 times police have been called to the club and the nearly 200 arrests, are out of their control.
"We have everything from metal detectors to pat down searches. We make them take their shoes off before they get into the club, just to be extra precautious," said Randy Williams.
Despite the precautions, Memphis Mayor A C Wharton and Police Director Toney Armstrong declared the club a nuisance, and shut the club down on December 27th.
"If they were as persistent as they were to do this as they were to help me, we would never be at this point that we are today," Williams said.
He declined to comment when we asked him about a plan to move the "Sexy Saturday" party from the closed Crave to another downtown location. The twins recently started advertising the party on social media, with the party scheduled for Saturday night at The High Point in the Pinch District.
The High Point's owner tells abc24.com he was misled about the party. He says a few days ago, a well-dressed man came in and signed a contract, and paid the $950 deposit.
Once he found out about the real plan for his club, he says he contacted the twins in an attempt to get out of the contract. He says he also alerted Memphis Police. He says he was told they'll have extra officers on hand if the party goes on. (UPDATE: Since this story first aired on January 3, the party has been CANCELED.)
"To be honest with you I feel like we are being picked on, not only are we being picked on, we are not being worked with," Williams said. "We try our hardest to make it safe to come out, we try and create a wonderful party experience for all our customers."
Williams says the way he sees it, the decision to re-open the club isn't up to the City or the Judge.
"As much as the city wants it, I believe it is up to me, I believe it is up to me, if I am willing to fight for it, I believe yes, it will be back open," he said.
Williams says he and his twin brother will be in court on Friday as part of the City's nuisance filing.
