Grind78 Entertainment’s Marco Joubert told the commission he intends to run “a clean operation.”
“I’m not trying to bring trouble or negativity to Haverhill,” said Joubert, who told commissioners he lives in Haverhill and was born and raised here. “I’m very strict at my events. There’s a dress code and we’re careful not to let anyone under 21 in. We had more than 300 people at the (Sept. 16) show and there were no problems or calls to police.”
Donald Sheldon, a lawyer who owns Academy Plaza and is D’Angelo’s landlord, also spoke on her behalf. Sheldon said he keeps a close eye on his property and would evict Sheldon if she was involved in illicit or illegal activity.
“It’s not a strip club,” Sheldon said of the business in the city’s Bradford section. “It’s a clean operation. I’m on top of it.”