VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The last night of the 9:30 p.m. curfew at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront is scheduled for Friday, despite one city leader’s efforts to have it lifted.
Tim Ritter, with FFX Theatre Family Fun Experience on 16th Street, said the curfew created challenges for Oceanfront businesses over the past weekend.
“People described it as scenes from The Walking Dead,” Ritter said.
Ritter said the curfew didn’t just send people home earlier — it discouraged many visitors from coming to the Oceanfront at all.
“They were announcing up and down the Oceanfront on loudspeakers via police vehicles driving down that there is an imminent threat curfew about to start,” Ritter said. “That sends families scrambling to their hotel rooms figuring out how do we get some dinner.”
Virginia Beach City Councilman Worth Remick, who represents part of the Oceanfront, said he supported the curfew when it was approved last week but looked to see if it could be lifted before this Friday. He said that ultimately was not possible.
“We’re going to keep the curfew on Friday night,” Remick said. “I was pushing for that, and all I can say is we’re going to have a curfew Friday night.”
A city spokesperson also confirmed with News 3 that as of Wednesday the curfew is still on for Friday.
Remick said he does not regret voting in favor of the curfew last week given the limited time before the weekend but added that he does not want the measure to become permanent.
“I think there’s a way to do this and not go to the nuclear option, which is a curfew,” he said.
On Monday, Remick said he attended a meeting with businesses and other stakeholders to discuss possible solutions moving forward.
“The resounding takeaway for me is let’s move forward, let’s put the curfew behind us and let’s come up with strategies and solutions that work for everyone and keep everyone safe and commerce going,” Remick said. “We are Virginia Beach. We are the state’s largest city, and we should never have a curfew.”
The city is also facing lawsuits over the curfew. A hearing is scheduled for Thursday, after several Oceanfront businesses asked a judge to block enforcement of the measure.
