VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The Virginia Beach Police Department said Monday that the first weekend under the city’s new 9:30 p.m. Oceanfront curfew appeared to meet its public safety goal, with no shootings or significant violent incidents reported.
But some Oceanfront business owners say the quieter streets also meant fewer customers — and lost revenue during a critical early stretch of the tourism season.
Debbie Lou Hague, whose family owns Ocean Eddie’s between 14th and 15th streets, said sales at the restaurant were down 23% Friday compared with the same night last year.
“A lot of loss in revenue — and I’m talking not just $1,000, but for some restaurants $10,000,” Hague said.
Hague who is also the president of the Virginia Beach Restaurant Association said her phone rang throughout Monday morning with calls from other Oceanfront business owners reporting similar declines tied to the curfew weekend.
She said while businesses support efforts to prevent violence, the restrictions came with consequences for workers and employers alike.
“My employees need to pay their bills,” Hague said. “They need to pay their mortgages, their rents, their car payments, their school loans. A couple nights of not working — because we actually sent people home — can affect them.”
Hague said many businesses are not sure how they will adapt come Friday on the last night of the curfew.
Police said three people were arrested over the weekend for violating the curfew.
Attorney Tim Anderson said he has filed a request for a restraining order challenging the curfew and is representing two of those individuals.
According to Anderson, one arrest involved a man who identified himself as a member of the press, while the other involved a resident who was smoking a cigarette outside her apartment.
“These are two real people that have been arrested in Virginia Beach for curfew violations that I am representing,” Anderson said.
A hearing on the request for an injunction against the curfew is scheduled Tuesday in Virginia Beach Circuit Court.
More than 50 businesses at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront plan to offer $9.30 specials Saturday when the curfew is set to expire for the evening, an effort aimed at encouraging residents to return to the beach and support local restaurants and shops.
Participating businesses include:
- Family Fun Experience
- Mo’z BBQ
- Seaside
- Tautogs
- Dock Taylor’s
- Sweet Frog 4
- Dairy Queen
- Ben and Jerry's
- Dough Boy’s
- Lucy Skybar
- Abbey Road
- Beach Bodies
- Coastal Edge
- Sunsations and affiliates
- Oh My Schwarma
- Waterman’s
- Chick’s
- The Shack
- Waterman Spirits
- Ocean Eddie's
- Sandbar
- Peabody’s
- Flipper McCoy's
- Smartmouth Brewing
