Fire at former MP Island Café does about $80k in damage

VIRGINIA BEACH

Firefighters extinguished a blaze at Kazmo Restaurant & Lounge early Wednesday, just weeks after it completed a renovation valued at about $40,000.
The call came in shortly after midnight for the business, in the Green Run Square Shopping Center at 3320 Holland Road, said Battalion Chief Tim Riley, a Fire Department spokesman. The fire was isolated to the bar area and caused smoke and fire damage totaling roughly $80,000, he said.
Kazmo, formerly MP Island Café, was closed at the time, Riley said. Firefighters evacuated puppies from the Puppy Palace next door. All the dogs are OK, he said.
After a series of problems at MP Island Café, including a shooting and
fatal stabbing in March, owner Mike Palmer decided to renovate the cafe and turn it into a lounge geared toward older patrons. The revamped business premiered as Kaz-mo several weeks ago.
This summer, Palmer applied for a nightclub permit from the city but withdrew the application in August after some members of the Green Run community vowed to fight it. Palmer has a restaurant license but was operating MP Island Café as a nightclub when the stabbing occurred in March. After that incident, the city ordered Palmer to stop operating as a nightclub.
Palmer said the order hurt his revenue and forced him to lay off several employees.
But so far, transforming MP Island Café into Kazmo seems to have been effective, said Councilman Glenn Davis, who represents the Green Run area and has been working with Palmer to turn things around.
No serious problems have been reported to police, according to online police reports. And Kazmo has garnered support from some Green Run residents, Davis said. In the past, MP Island Café was criticized for drawing a rowdy crowd.
Palmer could not be reached at Kazmo on Wednesday. The cause of the fire is under investigation, Riley said.
Kathy Adams, (757) 222-5155, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com