HAMPTON, Va. — Southern Comfort Restaurant and Lounge has closed a little over a month after Hampton City Council revoked the late-night lounge’s special use permit.
The restaurant closed on Monday following a decision by Hampton City Council to limit the restaurant’s hours, setting closing time to 12 a.m. rather than the 2 a.m. closing time that owner Eddie Gomez was requesting.
“Restrictions on our operating hours and other mandates imposed on us by the City of Hampton have made it impossible for us to generate sufficient revenue to meet expenses,” Gomez said in a statement sent to News 3.
City leaders said the business failed to follow safety conditions set by the city, following a shooting in the parking lot in April and a fight in the restaurant in May.
Watch previous coverage: Hampton Planning Commission recommends revoking Southern Comfort's special use permit
"Noncompliance that was so egregious that we just felt like we know we need to take action before anybody else gets hurt," Mayor Jimmy Gray said in May.
One of the violations was security personnel not doing their job. A Hampton Police Officer showed the planning commission video of what HPD said was a large fight in the restaurant May 6. In the video, a security guard, whom Gomez said was fired, is seen not doing anything.
“Obviously we are sorry those incidents occurred, but we had a spotless record until then,” Gomez said.
Gomez said reduced hours and a mandate from the city to increase armed security made it impossible to sign a new five-year lease for the lounge. He says he is grateful to his patrons and staff who spent their time at Southern Comfort, and says he is doing what he can to help his 25 employees find new jobs.
“We had a good run, but this is not how I wanted it to end,” Gomez said.
Click here to see how we use AI at WTKR News 3.
