Bar Norfolk faces charges from state alcohol board

NORFOLK

One of downtown's largest nightclubs faces state Alcoholic Beverage Control board charges of fraud and being a "rendezvous for drunks."

On Tuesday, ABC special agent Craig Carmen testified at an ABC administra tive hearing that Bar Norfolk, a main anchor of the city's struggling Waterside entertainment complex, repeatedly failed to provide sales records after he began investigating in January.

At issue is the bar's liquor-to-food sales ratio. State law requires that food and non-alcoholic drinks total at least 45 percent of sales.

Based on the two days' worth of Bar Norfolk sales records, ABC agents concluded that the number may have only been reached by providing some drinks for free, Carmen said.

J. Neal Insley, an attorney for Bar Norfolk, contended that the business had provided its daily ledger to the agents and added that ABC officials had failed to ask specific questions about the business's sales. He described the complimentary drinks as an accounting procedure the bar used to record orders that spilled or never reached patrons.

The three administrative charges levied against Bar Norfolk include falsifying reports with the state, "becoming a meeting place or rendezvous for drunks," and failing to keep complete, accurate sales records.

A decision in the case will likely be issued in a month, said Betty Gettings, an ABC spokeswoman. It could result in anything from a dismissal of all charges to a fine or revocation of the club's liquor license.

Bar Norfolk usually is open Wednesday through Saturday nights. It is one of the largest tenants of the city-owned complex, which officials have said needs to be redeveloped or reinvented to stem dwindling revenue.

In 2006, Crocodile Rocks, another bar in Waterside, lost its liquor license for not selling enough food. The restaurant remained open briefly selling just beer and wine. It eventually closed.

Meghan Hoyer, (757) 446-2293, meghan.hoyer@pilotonline.com