Miami Restaurant Pays Fine for Allowing Children to ‘Drag Brunch’

Venice Pride held a festival on Nov. 12, 2022 in Venice, Fla. featuring drag queens and provocative children's games has parents upset. (Courtesy, Kayden Cokely)

A Miami restaurant has settled out of court to pay a $10,000 fine to the state government after being charged with exposing children to “sexualized entertainment” and running the risk of losing its liquor license.

R House in Wynwood is known for hosting drag shows several times throughout the week, including a “Drag Brunch” on Saturdays and Sundays. It has been hosting the event since 2017.

According to the complaint and settlement agreement (pdf) submitted by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s (DBPR) Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco (ABT), the restaurant used to host a kid’s menu specifically designated for children “up to 12 years of age.”

The state agency became aware of the situation in the Summer of 2022 after a video showing kids at the drag show went viral and incited public outrage. An investigation was then conducted by the ABT, which it claims further documented “inappropriate and exploitative behavior” being performed in front of children.

“A nearly nude dancer was filmed parading a young girl” through the restaurant’s audience during a drag brunch in early July 2022, ABT states in its formal complaint. “The dancer’s buttocks were fully exposed, and his ‘g-string’-style bikini bottom was stuffed with dollar bills–a practice that is commonly known to occur at so-called strip clubs. The dancer’s breasts–unmistakably female in appearance–were also fully exposed except for the nipples and areolae, which were covered in adhesive ‘pasties.’

“The young girl in the video appeared to be between three and five years old, and she was holding at least one dollar bill in her hand.”

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Florida governor Ron DeSantis passed a law forbidding minors from being exposed to sexually charged materials and situations at an “inappropriate” age after outrage erupted across the state and nation in reaction to young children being exposed to sexually explicit drag queen shows under the justification of pro-LGBT inclusivity.

Senate Bill 1438, which was signed on May 17, specifically gives the DBPR and ABT “regulation to fine, suspend, or revoke the license of any public lodging establishment or public food service establishment if the establishment admits a child to an adult live performance.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gives a press conference in Steinhatchee, Fla., on Aug. 31, 2023. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

“Having kids involved in this is wrong,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a press conference in July 2022. “That is not consistent with our law and policy in the state of Florida. And it is a disturbing trend in our society to try to sexualize these young people.”

SB 1438 has been blocked by a Federal Judge, but the ABT found four violations of standing law to charge the restaurant.

The first called upon Florida Statue 561.29(1)(c), which states that it holds the right to revoke a beverage license if a person is “maintaining a nuisance on the licensed premises.” The division referenced a previous case in which a Florida Supreme Court recognized “’men impersonating women‘ in the context of ’suggestive and indecent’ performances’” as a public nuisance.

The second count calls on Florida Statute 796.07(2)(a), which prohibits the operation of “any place, structure, building or conveyance for the purpose of lewdness.”

The third count cites Florida Statue 561.29(1)(a), which states the state agency has the power to revoke a license if there was disorderly conduct being permitted on the premises. Florida Statute 877.03 prohibits “such acts as are of a nature to corrupt the public morals, or outrage the sense of public decency.”

The fourth count cites Florida Statutes 800.03, which prohibits “exposing or exhibiting ... sexual organs in public or on the private premises of another ... in a vulgar or indecent manner.”

A drag queen accepts money from children at a "child-friendly" drag event in Watertown, Wis., on July 29, 2023. (Courtesy of Marcus Schroeder)

R House agreed to pay DBPR an administrative fine of $10,000 within 30 days. It also agreed to no longer “knowingly permit patrons under 18 on premises during adult performances,” as well as check IDs for all patrons who appear 25 or younger.

The settlement also makes clear that nothing stated in it should be seen as an admission or finding of guilt.

The restaurant’s website currently states that all patrons must be 18 years or older to attend “Drag Brunch,” with IDs required for entry, and the Drag Brunch schedule remains intact.

R House did not respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment.

This settlement follows a similar case settled on Aug. 7, in which the Orlando Philharmonic Plaza Foundation, Inc. risked getting its liquor license revoked. After coming under fire for its show, “A Drag Queen Christmas,” held at the Hyatt Regency Miami, which was attended by young children, the Foundation agreed to pay the DBPR $5,000 and no longer allow anyone under 18 to attend performances “which contains, depicts or simulates any activities violating section 847.001(23), Florida Statutes.”

“Exposing children to sexually explicit activity is a crime in Florida, and such action violates the Department’s licensing standards for operating a business and holding a liquor license,” DeSantis Executive Press Secretary Bryan Griffin said of the Christmas show. “The Department will share any collected evidence with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for potential criminal liability.”

Dan M. Berger and Matt McGregor  contributed to this report.