Adam & Eve sues Fort Bend Co. over sexually oriented business permit

A Houston-area Adam & Eve store is going to court over what may sound like a strange question for a business famous for selling sex toys: Is it actually a sex store?

Store operators for Adam & Eve on Richmond Parkway sued Fort Bend County in the 434th Judicial District Court in July, arguing its new store is a “specialty retail boutique” rather than a sexually oriented business subject to the county’s considerably stricter regulations.

And yes, Adam & Eve acknowledges some of what’s on the shelves.

According to the lawsuit, the store sells lingerie, apparel, sleepwear, wellness and personal-care products along with “relationship-oriented products” and other merchandise. But the company argues products regulated by the county make up only a minority of the store’s floor space, inventory and expected revenue.

The lawsuit also makes a point of describing what customers won’t find inside.

“The Store does not contain adult arcade booths, viewing rooms, theaters, stages, live entertainment, on premises adult services, nudity, or semi-nudity, and it does not sell or display pornographic media,” attorneys for Adam & Eve wrote.

Huma Ahmed, chief of the Regulatory Division for the Fort Bend County Attorney’s Office, told Chron the Sheriff’s Office began contacting Adam & Eve in May after investigators determined the store carried items covered by the county’s sexually oriented business regulations.

Ahmed said investigators visited the store multiple times and documented its merchandise, some of which she said changed between visits.

“Some of those items were removed by the time of the second investigation,” Ahmed said. “They’ve removed all the crotchless panties. They’ve removed all of the lingerie that exposes nipples and have replaced it with full-length lingerie that goes down to the floor.”

Ahmed disputed Adam & Eve’s characterization that the location primarily sells lingerie and only a limited number of regulated products.

“They’re making a case that they just sell lingerie and a few other items, which is not the case,” Ahmed said. “We will present those facts to the court.”

Due to ongoing litigation, attorneys for Adam & Eve declined Chron’s request for comment. 

Fort Bend County’s regulations define a sexually oriented business as a commercial enterprise whose “primary business” involves services or products intended to provide sexual stimulation or gratification. The definition includes businesses such as adult bookstores, adult theaters, adult video stores and sex parlors.

And that’s where Adam & Eve’s argument essentially comes down to two words: “primary business.”

The company says intimate apparel and general specialty retail merchandise—not regulated adult products—are the store’s primary business. Its lawsuit also argues that mainstream retailers and pharmacies sell overlapping products such as massagers, lubricants and intimate apparel without becoming sexually oriented businesses under the county’s rules.

“There are more than 100 Adam & Eve locations nationwide, including approximately 20 in Texas, and none of these locations requires a Sexually Oriented Business Permit, even in jurisdictions with more restrictive regulations than the Regulations at issue,” the lawsuit said. 

There’s another wrinkle: Fort Bend County had already approved the location for regular retail use.

Ahmed said those approvals were standard permits for a lease buildout and certificate of occupancy—not approval to operate as a sexually oriented business. She said Adam & Eve did not disclose what products it planned to sell when applying for them.

“They did not discuss or give any information as to what type of items they would be selling,” Ahmed said. “So the permits that they acquired have nothing to do with the actual items that they are selling. That was kept completely secret.”

And getting that designation wouldn’t simply mean filling out some additional paperwork.

Fort Bend County requires sexually oriented businesses to be at least 1,500 feet from places including homes, schools, churches, parks, hospitals and child-care facilities.

Adam & Eve says its store is within 1,500 feet of a residential neighborhood, creating something of a Catch-22: the county says it needs a sexually oriented business permit, but the location would prevent it from qualifying for one. 

“Unless restrained, the County will enforce the Regulations against the Store and compel its closure at the location the County previously approved for retail use,” Adam & Eve’s legal team wrote in the lawsuit. 

A hearing on Fort Bend County’s plea to the jurisdiction is scheduled for Sept. 2 in Richmond.

If the case survives that fight, a non-jury trial is scheduled for Feb. 16, 2027, with both sides ordered to complete mediation beforehand.