NORFOLK, Va. - On Thursday morning, the Board of Zoning Appeals unanimously denied the appeal of the owners of Culture Lounge to be able to reopen during a hearing.
In September, the city revoked Culture's restaurant zoning certificate, forcing the business to shut down. The owners appealed the revocation to the Board, whose seven members are appointed by the Norfolk Circuit Court.
During the two-hour hearing, the city presented evidence that they said shows Culture provided live entertainment, which they were not allowed to do because they were zoned as a restaurant.
Earlier this year, the owners surrendered their conditional use permit, which allowed them to serve alcohol late at night and have live entertainment. Since then, they were only supposed to operate as a restaurant, which meant they could only serve alcohol until midnight and have no entertainment.
The city showed pictures and played a video, which shows people dancing on tabletops. During a closed session, they provided tax information they say shows the restaurant wasn't following ABC regulations and tax rules.
One of the owners, Damian Livingston, attended the hearing and called the allegations "fake." Livingston said the dancers were part of the wait staff, and not outside entertainment. He also said he played video recordings of DJs but did not have physical DJs in the building.
"Culture Lounge and a few other businesses, African American restaurants, are under attack," Livingston told the Board.
Unrelated to the hearing, Livingston was arrested over the summer and is accused of raping a woman earlier this year.
Following the ruling, the owners can now appeal once again to the Norfolk Circuit Court within 30 days. An attorney for the owners said they were still thinking about what their next steps will be.
The city has shut down four downtown restaurants in recent months following incidents of violence this year.
