In most of the United States, a strip club has to choose. Serve alcohol and keep the dancers partly covered, or go fully nude and sell soft drinks. Atlanta is the well-known exception: clubs inside the city limits combine full nudity with a liquor licence, and that combination is a large part of why the city’s clubs are known far beyond Georgia.
The origin is not a licensing loophole so much as a court case. Atlanta blocked the musical Hair from the Civic Center in 1970 on obscenity grounds, citing its nude scene. In 1971 a federal judge ruled that nudity and obscenity are not the same thing. Alan Begner, an Atlanta attorney who has represented adult clubs for decades, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the city’s adult clubs went nude almost immediately afterwards, and that convention organisers took notice. Begner described the nude-and-alcohol combination as rare, and as the reason Atlanta’s clubs became the best known in the country.
The rules, and why nothing new opens
Atlanta has not banned the clubs, but zoning has effectively frozen the market. According to Begner, no Atlanta strip club has opened in a new location since 1984, because no site meets all the requirements at once. He called it a no-growth industry. The practical result is that the clubs operating today are long-established venues in long-established buildings. The Atlanta Police Department counted 16 clubs inside the city limits as of 2019. Dancers must hold an individual adult entertainment permit issued by the police department’s licence and permit unit.
Outside the city line, the picture is different. Suburban municipalities have tightened rules sharply. The AJC reported in 2019 that Sandy Springs, incorporated in 2005, pursued a ban on alcohol in fully nude clubs and that its three clubs had closed; Chamblee and Brookhaven were in litigation and bankruptcy proceedings respectively with their remaining clubs. Metro Atlanta once had roughly 40 clubs by Begner’s estimate in the mid-1990s.
The Safe Harbor assessment. Georgia also taxes the sector at state level. Under O.C.G.A. § 15-21-209, every adult entertainment establishment must pay the commissioner of revenue an annual state operation assessment by 30 April, equal to the greater of 1 percent of the previous calendar year’s gross revenue or $5,000. The money is remitted to the Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Children Fund Commission. Section 15-21-201 defines an adult entertainment establishment as a business that sells alcohol and where the entertainment involves nude or substantially nude dancing, movements of a sexual nature, charged lingerie modelling or charged personal contact by employees. The assessment is on top of any county or municipal fees. Operators have challenged the tax in court, including a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court reported in early 2025.
Atlanta
Magic City opened in 1985 and has a documented role in the music business, not just nightlife: NPR reported in 2010 on Atlanta strip clubs functioning as launch pads for hit records, with dancer and crowd reaction used as a read on whether a track works. Killer Mike told the AJC that some of the city’s leading music came out of venues including Blue Flame and Magic City. A five-part Starz docuseries, Magic City: An American Fantasy, executive-produced by Jermaine Dupri, covers the club’s influence on hip-hop.
- Magic City — 241 Forsyth St SW, Atlanta GA 30303. Downtown, roughly half a mile from the stadium.
- The Blue Flame Lounge — 1097 Harwell Road NW, Atlanta GA 30318.
- ONYX Atlanta — 1888 Cheshire Bridge Rd NE, Atlanta.
- Peaches Of Atlanta — 779 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd SW, Atlanta.
- Club Babes Atlanta — 304 Fulton Industrial Circle SW, Atlanta GA 30336.
- Oasis Goodtime Emporium — 6363 Peachtree Industrial Blvd, Atlanta GA 30360.
- Cheetah Lounge — 887 Spring St NW, Atlanta.
- Mardi Gras Atlanta — 6300 Powers Ferry Rd, Sandy Springs. This address is outside the Atlanta city limits and falls under Sandy Springs rules, which are more restrictive; check current status before travelling.
Columbus and Savannah
Both cities sit under their own local ordinances rather than Atlanta’s, so nudity and alcohol rules should not be assumed to match what applies downtown.
- Club Dreams — 2409 South Lumpkin Rd, Columbus.
- The Gold Gentleman’s Club — 3616 Victory Dr, Columbus.
- Scores Savannah — 12 N Lathrop Ave, Savannah GA 31415.
What to check before you go
- Which jurisdiction the address is in. An Atlanta postal address does not always mean the City of Atlanta. Sandy Springs, Chamblee and Brookhaven have each moved against clubs in their boundaries, and rules on alcohol and nudity change at the city line.
- Whether the venue is still trading. This is a contracting sector with ongoing litigation and closures. Call ahead rather than relying on an old listing.
- Cash and house rules. Entry fees, drink minimums and card acceptance vary by venue and by night, so closing time and payment methods are worth confirming.