Coyote Ugly in Ft. Lauderadale's Himmarshee nightlife district is known for bartenders offering sweaty body shots, yelling at patrons for not partying hard enough, and for unpleasant bathrooms.
Earlier this month, the lively watering hole closed after apparently experiencing some tax troubles.
Coyote Ugly's facebook page on March 12, 2011 explained to customers that the bar was forced to sell due to actions by Florida's Department of Revenue in a statement that read:
THANK YOU FORT LAUDERDALE FOR THE MANY YEARS OF GOOD TIMES...FOR THE REAL REASON WE WERE FORCED TO SELL THE BAR, PLEASE VISIT http://www.coyoteuglysaloon.com/lilspill/ AND HEAR IT FROM THE BOSS'S MOUTH. WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE STATE OF FLORIDA FOR BEING RUN SO POORLY THAT THEY HAD TO MAKE UP BS TAXES ON OUR SMALL BUSINESS TO MAKE UP FOR THEIR OWN DEBT.
The founder of Coyote Ugly, Liliana Lovell,
published an emotional statement on the Coyote Ugly webpage explaining that after a hefty fee for not posting proper tax signage, the bar couldn't financially stay afloat:
Last year we received a letter from the taxing board of Florida ( don't remember the exact department) claiming the Ft Lauderdale bar did not post a sign saying " prices include tax. They charged the bar $100,000. The Lauderdale bar was just breaking even at that point. We had to hire a lawyer and prove that we did have a sign that stated prices include tax. Well even though we proved that the sign had been up for years, they claimed the sign was too small. That tax bill was the end of the Lauderdale bar. We just couldn't keep up. About a month ago, Jeff the company lawyer told me that there were people willing to pay off the taxes and a little extra. I told him if they were serious then I would sell the bar. For weeks they have been goofing around . I blew it off thinking that it was just a phony offer. So I told the GM, it's business as usual. Yesterday I received a text from one of the bartenders thanking me for the time she was employed at the Lauderdale bar. I immediately called Jeff " what the fuck is going on?" after a couple hours proof to us came back that the buyers had in fact gone and paid our taxes. We had to hand over the keys at that moment. I am sick over it! I knew for years that we needed to move the bar but the attempts Lee and Daniel made to find a new location were not successful. I am sorry. Hopefully in the next year we can open up somewhere better. So sorry
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