NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — For the third time in a year, Norfolk City Council has voted to shut down a nightclub over concerns of violence.
By an 7-1 vote Tuesday night, City Council revoked Legacy Lounge’s Conditional Use Permit (CUP) after roughly two months of operation.
The city attorney’s staff said the restaurant violated its CUP the night of a quadruple shooting outside, when they didn’t have marked security.
An attorney for the restaurant told council members the incident was isolated and that the club has no violations.
“Legacy Lounge chose Norfolk for its potential not its problems,” Marcus Calabrese, a spokesperson for the club said. “Fighting for their country is something they are proud of. Fighting with Norfolk City Council, who will watch their news interviews but not see them in person, is not something they feel that same pride in. We thank Councilman Riddick for speaking on the issue of fairness. All they ask is for that same fairness and they will continue to extend their standing invitation to City Council and downtown Norfolk stakeholders.”
Riddick was the lone no vote. He recommended “Black people” no longer spend money in Downtown Norfolk.
He and others in attendance are upset another business, Chicho’s Backstage, has not been shut down. Five people were shot, three of them fatally, in a shooting outside Chicho’s in March. Norfolk police have maintained that a spilled drink inside Chicho’s launched the argument that led to the shooting.
Legacy is the third nightclub shut down by City Council within the last year.
Norfolk City Manager Chip Filer has said establishments in the downtown area should not claim immunity for actions that happen outside their establishment when the city can trace activities to inside the establishment that fuels the activity.