'It's been doing well, and really well on nights when it's cold or rainy,' said employee Toni Kennedy. 'Discretion and the ease of it are big, and convenience. We're Americans. We like everything convenient.' A 1998 law banned the sale of products intended for sexual stimulation. With two sex-toy stores in Alabama's Tennessee Valley, Williams sued to overturn the law with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union.
She won initially when a federal judge ruled in 1999 there was no rational basis for the law. But the state appealed and Williams lost, allowing the law to remain on the books. The US Supreme Court refused to hear the case in 2007, ending Williams' challenge. Distribution of sex toys is a misdemeanour on the first offence with a maximum penalty of a $10,000 (£6,500) fine and one year in jail. The law does not ban possession. But under the legal loophole customers buying sex toys fill out an anonymous form with 10 questions including whether they or a partner have difficulty with sexual fulfillment.
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In November, Williams held the grand opening for an expanded Pleasures store in an old bank building at a busy intersection. It seemed like a waste not to use the old drive-thru window once run by bank tellers, so workers now sell all sorts of adult products from the side of the building. Just like at a fast-food restaurant, there's a brightly lit sign outside with products and prices - herbal 'enhancement pills' are eight dollars (£5) per dose. Williams believes her drive-thru is the first in the country to offer adult novelties for sale.
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