HAMPTON, Va. — The city of Hampton was poised Wednesday to potentially take action against Chances Restaurant and Lounge. The city cites numerous violations against the business.
This comes as Hampton police continued to investigate a fatal shooting there in May.
As of Wednesday, the doors at Chances Restaurant and Lounge were locked. There were multiple notices posted on the business from the city of Hampton Treasurer’s Office saying the property had been seized for failure to pay food and beverage taxes and other charges.
As of Wednesday, News 3 was working to get a copy of the business’s tax history.
At the City of Hampton Planning Commission’s regularly-scheduled meeting October 16, the commission will discuss the possible revocation of the business’s conditional use permit.
That’s a city-issued permit the business has to have to operate.
Included in the meeting agenda is a city memo that outlines more than a half dozen violations.
Watch: Photo released of man connected to shooting at Chances Restaurant & Lounge
They’re broken down into four categories — Security, ABC Compliance, Compliance With Laws, and Window Transparency.
The memo also notes on October 1 Virginia ABC revoked the business’s license to sell alcohol.
In an Instagram post, the business admits the license was revoked and says, in part, “This is heartbreaking news for us because we’ve worked hard to build a safe, welcoming space for the community."
News 3 reached out to the account and asked for an interview but as of Wednesday had not gotten a response.
The city declined to make anyone available for an interview Wednesday, but did send News 3 a statement that says three incidents on three weekends in a row in September caused the city to decide to consider revoking the conditional use permit.
The memo says there were two fights, one involving the assault of a disabled person, and in the third incident at least two people fired at least 15 shots and someone at the business was seen breaking a window there.
Watch: Hampton mayor, police chief address community concerns following recent violence in past week
News 3 looked up the business’s conditional use permit application to try to track down the business owner. News 3 called the two numbers listed, but did not get a response. News 3 also went to the address listed for the person who applied for the permit. The person who answered the door said the person who filed the application is not the owner.
If the planning commission makes a recommendation at the October 16 meeting, Hampton City Council will hold a public hearing on the issue at the October 22 City Council meeting.
