Maybe his plate was a little too full.

Embattled strip-club impresario Samuel J.T. Moore III and his partners are putting the former home of Julian's Restaurant up for sale.

The sale would lessen the likelihood that the Boulevard-Broad Street neighborhood -- touted by the city as a museum-filled, family-oriented gateway to the city -- could be home to a strip club.

"For Sale" signs have shown up in front of the former restaurant, perhaps left by neighbors angry that Moore had wanted to convert the building to a gentleman's club. Moore's attorney, Michael Morchower, said yesterday that the signs were not put there by Moore but, in fact, the property is for sale.

Moore "is doing this for the benefit of the neighborhood," Morchower said, and has promised the property will be sold to someone whose use of the building "will be compatible with plans for the area."

"This is wishful thinking that became fulfilled," said Karen S. Coltrane, president of the Children's Museum of Richmond, which is across the street from the Julian's building at 2617 W. Broad Street.

Coltrane said the building could once again become a prime location for an eatery.

"We draw 225,000 people a year, and it would have been a shame to have families coming here and have to deal with [a strip club] across the street," Coltrane said.

Opposition was mounting to the point that "we had moms willing to picket, sign petitions and even find land outside the city for a new museum site."

Last month, the city declined to issue a building permit for Moore's proposed club conversion, saying that plans were too vague. Among the lingering questions was the matter of how fully dressed club employees would be.

The sale of the building would apparently put an end to that enterprise -- Moore "would be hung in effigy by the neighbors over there if he proceeded," Morchower said.

Moore's semi-nude strip club on South 15th Street in Shockoe Bottom, Club Velvet, was searched in February by law-enforcement agents. Moore has been charged with two counts of having sex with a minor and is awaiting trial.

Besides the Children's Museum, the Julian's site is in close proximity to the Science Museum of Virginia and is a short distance from museums along Boulevard.

Coltrane has urged the community to stay involved and said yesterday that "the best thing people can do is keep coming to visit."
Contact Bill McKelway at (804) 649-6601 or bmckelway@timesdispatch.com.