The City Attorney’s Office announced July 20 they are seeking to close the 2200 Club from operating as a bathhouse after the club allegedly violated terms of its probation.

The 2200 Club has been on probation for less than four months following a settlement in its misdemeanor case in April. Vice officers entered the 2200 Club on June 22 and found people using illegal inhalants and other drugs, according to Deputy City Attorney Bryan Ziegler.

Owner John Tennis Smith appeared July 20 with two attorneys before San Diego Superior Court Commissioner Sandra Berry. Smith and the 2200 Club denied any violation of probation had occurred.

Berry set a probation revocation hearing for Sept. 6. Ziegler said the two vice officers and an unnamed informant will testify at the hearing about what they saw that may be in violation of the bathhouse’s probation conditions.

Attorneys for Smith, the 2200 Club and the property owner could not be reached for comment as of press time, after numerous attempts to contact them.

“We’re asking that the club be shut down,” Ziegler told the Gay & Lesbian Times.

He said the probation violations include the use by patrons of “Rush” or “Jungle Juice,” also know as amyl nitrite and poppers, which he described as illegal inhalants that are often sold as leather or video-head cleaner. Ziegler would not identify what other drugs may have been used.

Another violation is the renting of private rooms to more than one occupant, Ziegler said. According to the settlement, the owner agreed to rent rooms to single occupants only.

In April, San Diego Superior Court Commissioner Robert Rice placed the club on three years probation after it pleaded guilty to operating a bathhouse without a health permit. They obtained the permit, paid a fine of $1,200 and reimbursed the city $538.63 in investigative costs.

The 2200 Club agreed to violate no laws and oust anyone who used illegal drugs. It also agreed to allow city inspectors, with a 24-hour notice, to take pictures and monitor compliance.

The site has been a bathhouse with different owners for more than 21 years, and it remains open.

2200 Club’s probation also requires a health center to set up a table for health care education, counseling and free HIV testing on a weekly basis.