Though formerly an urban club mecca, King of Diamonds in Miami has closed shop—perhaps, for good.
It wasn’t that long ago that King of Diamonds was more than simply a strip club. It was mentioned in a countless number of rap songs by such artists as Drake, 2 Chainz and Nicki Minaj. It was even proclaimed the “king of strip clubs” by the Miami New Times back in 2014.
But that was then, and this is now. On October 18th, the investors in King of Diamonds were ordered to pay the court-appointed bankruptcy receiver (Kenneth A. Welt) a lump sum of $305,000, plus additional payments of $85,000 the first of every month thereafter (the club was initially sued for bankruptcy in August 2017). Those investors did not pay this court-appointed sum—and the tenants at King of Diamonds (7800 Ipco Road, Miami) were summarily evicted.
Recently, Welt and his lawyer, together with the Miami-Dade police department, served notice on the nightclub and changed the locks.
As the New Times points out, the eviction exclamation point on problems the club had been experiencing for the past five years. The club almost closed in 2014 but was instead sold for about $6 million to a group of New York City investors operating under the name “Kodrenyc LLC,” which was managed by financier Elliott “Eli” Kunstlinger. (The LLC took out a new, $4 million mortgage.) The club was initially founded by legendary Miami musician Disco Rick.
When the deal with Kunstlinger fell apart, the club’s owners were hit with an additional $1.7 million in accrued and unpaid interest on their mortgage. By August, the club had defaulted.
Things reportedly got even worse early in 2018 when it was discovered that the club had been operating with open, potentially life-threatening code violations, including malfunctioning fire sprinklers. Miami-Dade County closed the building October 5 due to safety violations.
What’s next for King of Diamonds in Miami? Oddly enough, there are Facebook posts on their page which suggest that the club is “remodeling” and will be open in December. Stay tuned for more updates.