Glamorous Miami club caught in power struggle over the virus

MIAMI (AP) — At LIV, one of the most glamorous, star-studded nightclubs in one of the world's biggest party destinations, there's a velvet-roped VIP area, and then there's a secret VIP area. The parties at the club are so legendary they have inspired lyrics from Drake, Kanye West and Rick Ross. High rollers spend up to $20,000 just for a table.

Today, LIV sits quiet and empty — a casualty not just of the coronavirus outbreak but of a power struggle between state and local government over how to contain the scourge.

On a recent Friday, the sleek black floors and curved silver snakeskin couches were a sad sight in the harsh light of day. A bottle of hand sanitizer rested on top of the DJ booth, where back in February a man shelled out $120,000 just to sit there during a performance by Cardi B.

The puppeteer behind the parties and arguably the king of South Beach's nightlife scene, LIV owner David Grutman, stopped by a few months ago to look at new upholstery, but he mostly stays away from the club at the center of his hospitality empire.

“I cried real tears,” the 46-year-old Grutman said of his last visit to the shuttered club and nightlife's seemingly bygone era. “It’s really been my lifeblood.”

Technically, LIV and Miami's other nightclubs could reopen at 50% capacity under an ordered issued Sept. 25 by Gov. Ron DeSantis. But Miami leaders have imposed a midnight curfew — a real buzzkill for a scene that doesn't even get started until the a.m. hours — and are restricting loud music so that people don’t have to shout and risk spreading the virus through their spittle.

Also, a local mask ordinance requires patrons to keep their faces covered except while eating and drinking — though the governor has barred municipalities from collecting fines for...