CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Eagles Nest Rockin' Country Bar in Chesapeake announced the permanent closure of its club side, saying it wanted to return to its country roots. One day later, the entire business shut down temporarily for renovations. The back-to-back announcements left customers with questions.
In a Facebook post, the bar told customers it had been distracted from its original goals.
"After some recent reflection, we have decided to take some time to make some changes. We have been distracted from our original goals, and it is time for us to renew our commitment to our community and customers. As of now, the club side will be closed permanently as we are preparing to transform it into something new and exciting. Moving forward, our mission is to bring you the best in sports, today's country music, and great live local performances in a fun, safe, and clean environment."
The post, which received nearly 1,900 comments, initially indicated the bar would still be open that Sunday for football. But the following day, Eagles Nest posted again saying renovations had started ahead of schedule.
"We have some exciting news! We were able to start making major improvements earlier than planned. Because our timeline has moved up and work is already underway, we will be closed tomorrow for NFL Sunday. We apologize for the inconvenience, but great things are on the way."
The rapid sequence of announcements left regular customers confused. Eric Boddie said the bar had long offered something for everyone.
"You know you had two sides. They actually were doing like hip-hop, rap, R&B, then you know you had the country side as well."
Boddie said the decision to return to the bar's country roots raised immediate concerns among him and his friends.
"So for you to say, 'That's all we doing. We're going back to our roots,' The first thing me and my people was talking about was like, is they saying that they don't want us there?"
Public records show the bar's liquor licenses are listed as inactive with the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority. When Chesapeake reporter Erin Holly asked for details, a Virginia ABC representative said they legally cannot discuss specifics.
Call data provided by the Chesapeake Police Department for the location showed 115 calls to Eagles Nest over the past 6 months for various incidents, which police say is high. 13 of those reports involve guns being stolen from vehicles at the location, between the beginning of March and the end of September.
Customer Amaya Wills said the decision to remove the club side left her with deeper questions about who the bar wanted to serve.
"Because I've been going here for awhile and ever since I've been coming here, it's been a rap/live band/country, so to just hear 'They're going back to their original roots,' like what does that mean? And like, they're taking the club part out and honestly that was the best part, it was packed, because of the club part."
Wills said she also felt the shift could be sending a message about the bar's desired clientele.
"So to just hear 'Okay, does that mean that you don't want a certain demographic there? And I kind of feel like that too, and that's upsetting."
The announcements sparked significant discussion on social media. Manager Tim Edwards addressed the concerns directly.
"There's nothing racial whatsoever. It's, all this is, it's just us doing what we do. When we open the doors back up, everybody's welcome. We hope everybody comes back and enjoys it," Edwards told Chesapeake reporter Erin Holly over the phone. "Everybody loves sports. Everybody loves country music, to have a good old time. When we open the doors, I hope to see everybody that gave us a negative review to come back up and see that they were wrong."
Wills said she wants the bar staff to be more open with the people who support it.
"You have to be transparent with your customers especially if you want them to come back, like after all this."
Edwards said the management team does not know how long the temporary closure will last, and they plan to make announcements on social media soon.
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