Have you recently been thinking about opening your own local dance club? Being a proprietor of an entertainment establishment can be a lot of work, but it can also be a lot of fun. To ensure your patrons have a great time dancing for many nights to come, it’s important to take the proper steps to keep your club open and operating within the confines of the law.

Get the Proper Licensing

When you’re opening a nightclub, you’re probably going to want to serve alcoholic beverages to your customers. Within the United States, each state has its own licensing board regarding alcohol sales. For example, if you’re wanting to set up a business in the Lone Star State, you need to check into getting a liquor license in Texas. Following the liquor laws in your state is an imperative part of operating a dance club.

Check Peoples’ Identification

When you will be running an operation that deals with age-restricted services, you need to have a system in place to properly check the legal age of each customer. To avoid costly lawsuits against the business you’ve worked so hard to build, have a way to verify all your patrons are old enough to enter your venue. One way to do this is to have an electronic system to run identification cards to make sure they’re authentic. This can be done with a machine that reads the data from the magnetic stripe on the back of a driver’s license card when it’s swiped.

Consult With the Fire Department

When you’re opening a business where many people will be gathering inside a single building, you need to have an inspection by your local fire department. The inspector looks at the size and layout of your property to determine how many people can safely occupy the space at any given time. The department official then issues a certificate of maximum occupancy, which lets you know how many people can safely exit the building in the event of a fire. If you allow too many people into your building and there’s an emergency, it could be difficult for them to escape safely, so be sure to stay within the occupancy limit at all times.

It’s a smart play to have all your legal ducks in a row before you open for business. If you comply with all the legal specifics in your state, then your customers may be dancing the night away for many years in the future.