Judge postpones bar battle hearing

NORFOLK, Va. - A judge has decided to postpone a hearing on the Waterside bar battle until Tuesday. He said the bars at the center of the debate, Bar Norfolk and Have a Nice Day Cafe, will remain closed.

Friday afternoon, the judge was expected to weigh in on the city's injunction and make a ruling, but when the hearing was due to begin, he said he wanted to hear the case in its entirety first.

Meanwhile, the owners of Bar Norfolk and Have a Nice Day Cafe filed a lawsuit against the City Friday. In the counterclaim the owners say the City overstepped its bounds when it seized possession of the restaurants by force and threat of arrest. The suit claims the City has violated the legal and constitutional rights of the restaurants and is causing irreparable harm to them.

It goes on to state "... the restaurants [Have A Nice Day and Bar Norfolk] respectfully request that this honorable court enter an order granting temporary and permanent relief directing Waterside Associates Limited Partnership, the City of Norfolk and the agents and entities they control to take any and all steps necessary to return possession of the leased premises to the restaurants, and to cease and desist from interfering in the operations of the restaurants during the pendency of this litigation."

Waterside visitors worry the lawsuit will end up costing taxpayers more, as the case gets hashed out in court.

"It's just going to come back around," said Jeannie Cook, "it's going to come back either way."

Others see the bar closings as an opportunity to reshape the face of the premium property.

C. C. Wiggins said she'd like to see small boutiques brought in to make Waterside more unique, but she added, "nothing outlandishly expensive."

Officials padlocked both Waterside bars this week.

City attorney Bernard Pishko says the two bars were shut down not only because of city code and lease violations, but also because "their manner of operation was not acceptable, not appropriate."

He tells WAVY.com the city has no problems with the other nightclubs at Waterside and they will remain open.

Pishko also said Have a Nice Day Cafe and Bar Norfolk have not been paying taxes on the cigarettes they sell and charges are pending against the bars for that as well. Both restaurants also have fire code violations, Pishko told us.

Have a Nice Day Cafe was issued 26 code citations Tuesday night and  Bar Norfolk was issued 20 code citations Thursday, according to Pishko.

Also, Thursday morning the city filed an injunction in circuit court asking a judge to order the bars to stop selling alcohol.

Alan Albert, an attorney representing the bar owners and managers, says the city is doing everything it can to run the clubs out of town.

"It's very disconcerting to think that if the City decides one day that they don't like you they can just take extraordinary steps to boot you out," said Albert.

On Tuesday, City Council voted to rescind the city permits that allow the bars to serve alcohol and provide entertainment, but the managers and owners for the two bars opened them for business anyway, according to city officials.

"The saddest thing of all is that these are businesses that were recruited to come to Norfolk over a decade ago," Albert said.

The writing may have been on the door so to speak; a sign was put up outside the bar, but Albert says he didn't see it coming.

"I personally spoke with the manager of the mall who told me he had no notice and could give me no reason," he said.

List of Code Violations:

Bar Norfolk on 8-19-09

Allowing operation of an eating and drinking establishment without a special exception;

Allowing operation of an entertainment establishment without a special exception;

Broken outlet cover causing electrical hazard;

Obstructed pull station interfering with use of fire protection equipment;

Use of non-flame retardant decorative material;

Light hanging by wires causing electrical hazard;

Electrical wire through hole contributing to fire spread;

No cover on electrical switch-open wires;

No food manager on site;

and 9 counts of permitting employment of person without food handler’s card.

Have a Nice Day Café on 8-18-09

Allowing operation of an eating and drinking establishment without a special exception;

Allowing operation of an entertainment establishment without a special exception;

Dirty or painted sprinkler heads;

Open electrical boxes;

Broken outlet causing fire hazard;

Missing fire extinguisher;

Missing ceiling tiles causing fire spread;

Illegal use of extension cords;

Uninspected fire extinguisher;

Improper coverage to fryers causing fire spread;

Storage within 18 inches of sprinkler;

No cover on electrical outlets;

Allowing employee to work without food handler’s card;

No food manager on site;

and storage blocking electrical panels.

All the above noted charges are Class 1 misdemeanors (maximum penalty $2500 fine and /or 12 months jail), except for the charges relating to the special exception. The maximum penalty for the special exception violation is a $1000 fine.