NORFOLK – Vice Mayor Anthony L. Burfoot wants to take away another downtown nightclub’s alcohol license in the wake of a fatal shooting last weekend that police say resulted from an argument inside The Palace on Plume Street restaurant.
If the restaurant loses the license, it would be the fifth downtown restaurant that city leaders would have essentially closed in four years.
The Palace opened eight months ago with a New Year’s Eve event that violated the municipal safety policy because its managers did not evacuate the club after a fire alarm was set off, city officials said. Since then, The Palace has racked up alleged code problems that include overcrowding and lewd conduct by patrons, according to documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
In addition, city leaders have repeatedly expressed concerns about who manages the club.
When The Palace sought an alcohol license last year, Burfoot lobbied the City Council to approve the request. The shooting and the other problems have convinced him it’s time to revoke it, Burfoot said Wednesday.
According to Virginia State Police, a confrontation that began in the bar resulted in a shooting on Interstate 264. Timothy Jenkins, 33, died after being shot by an assailant in another car near the Ballentine Boulevard exit. State Police said Wednesday they are searching for witnesses.
“Although the shooting didn’t happen downtown, it happened in this city as a result of this particular establishment,” Burfoot said. The vice mayor said he asked City Attorney Bernard A. Pishko to initiate proceedings to take away the restaurant’s city license to serve alcohol. The council has to hold a hearing and vote.
Councilman Paul R. Riddick said The Palace is being targeted because it is owned by Kenny Bullock, a Chesapeake contractor who is African American, and because it caters to a black crowd.
“That shooting occurred on the interstate, miles away from downtown,” Riddick said. “What’s going on here is that you’ve got some white bar owners downtown who don’t want to see young blacks near their business.”
Mayor Paul Fraim and most other members of council said it’s too early to comment. Kevin Martingayle, a Virginia Beach attorney who represents The Palace, praised them “for not rushing to judgment.” The Palace has yet to be convicted in court of any violations, he said.
Four years ago, the city essentially shut down the Granby Theater nightclub after a fatal shooting inside. It was later allowed to reopen. In August 2009, the council stripped two Waterside clubs – Have a Nice Day Cafe and Bar Norfolk – of their licenses to serve alcohol. Burfoot and Fraim led that effort.
Three months later, Posh Dolche, a Granby Street eatery, was stripped of its alcohol license because of numerous violations, officials said.
According to reports and internal emails obtained by The Virginian-Pilot, the city’s bar task force has visited The Palace numerous times and charged management with two criminal violations for overcrowding on July 3. The task force, a combination of planning, fire and law enforcement agencies, regulates restaurants and clubs.
Other alleged violations include sidewalks blocked by patrons, illegal fireworks indoors, improper kitchen equipment and failure to adhere to the dress code the bar established.
City documents also assert that in April, two patrons were observed having sex in the back of the club while a security guard watched.
Kevin Murphy, who heads the Downtown Civic League, said he’s stunned by the city’s findings. He said he’s visited The Palace several times and never witnessed anything that concerned him.
According to city documents, Deputy City Attorney Cynthia Hall, who heads the task force, told then-City Manager Regina V.K. Williams and the council in January that she was worried about Bullock’s role in The Palace. Bullock, who owns the building in which the club is located, was convicted in 1994 of intent to distribute cocaine, according to federal court documents.
City records list Chesapeake attorney Christopher Falk as the restaurant owner. According to Hall, Bullock was notified more than a year ago that he could not be a part of restaurant management because of his drug conviction.
“Both Falk and Bullock indicated to city staff that Bullock would have no management oversight… and no input in the running of the establishment,” Hall wrote to the council and Williams on Jan. 3. Hall said that when fire officials arrived at The Palace on New Year’s Eve, Bullock identified himself as the manager.
On May 2, city documents show that Hall told Falk that “it was apparent that Bullock really did not treat this as a place of business but rather as a party place for him to entertain friends.”
Recently, The Palace applied for a new city alcohol license in which Bullock is named as an ABC manager. He needs approval from both the council and the Virginia ABC board.
Frank Duke, Norfolk’s planning director, said this week he plans to recommend that commission and council deny that application.
By Harry Minium
The Virginian-Pilot
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