Fed-up Chic's Beach residents block restaurant's expansion

By Jaedda Armstrong

VIRGINIA BEACH

Ever since the Green Parrot Grille opened a few feet away from residents on Lookout Road, homeowners say it has created all sorts of problems.

Matt Froehler and his wife are awakened once a month by bar fights that pour from the restaurant into the street. Charles Coombe often catches people urinating between his neighbors' vehicles. Landlord Judy Johnson complains that patrons often park in her tenants' spaces. David Huls and his wife once slept in their living room for nearly a year to escape the loud music they hear through their bedroom window.

That's why when restaurant owner Laurie Richards went before City Council last week hoping to get approval for an outdoor dining area, the Chic's Beach residents weren't having it.

Nearly 30 residents showed up Tuesday night to tell the council that they fear an outdoor area would triple the noise and further promote offensive behavior already stemming from the restaurant.

After hearing a handful of complaints from residents, the council decided to deny Richards' request. Richards, who also lives on Lookout Road, was advised to consider other options and work out existing issues with residents.

The Chic's Beach neighborhood, a mixture of beach cottages, condominiums, duplexes and single-family homes, is located on a stretch of beach east of the Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story and north of Shore Drive. The family beach atmosphere is what many residents say attracted them to the area.

Several residents said they've tried to come up with a compromise with the restaurant owner, but their concerns continue to be ignored.

Coombe, who has lived in the neighborhood for 13 years, said he wants the restaurant to quit playing music and stop serving alcoholic beverages after 10 p.m. If they stopped serving alcohol so late, he said, his neighbors wouldn't find intoxicated people in ditches at sunrise.

"Before the restaurant opened, we explained to Laurie what we didn't want," he said. Coombe said that at the neighborhood's civic league meeting, Richards said the restaurant would close at midnight, there would be no amplified music and ample parking for everyone.

None of it happened, he said.

"I'm retired, and I'm just trying to relax and enjoy life here," said Coombe, 59, who lives two homes away from the restaurant.

Green Parrot Grille, a small yellow, green and red building, sits about 8 feet away from the nearest house. It opened in 2006 and operates out of the building that was home to Frankies, a restaurant that was open for nearly 55 years before it shut down in 2005.

For long time resident Catherine Girard, the problem is not the restaurant. It's the entertainment. The 89-year-old said when she takes out her hearing aids, she still hears the bands playing, which often keeps her awake at nights.

"It's a touchy subject to talk about with the residents," Richards said in response to the complaints. "They are an older crowd, and they are not open to change."

Neighbors say Frankies had a community-friendly atmosphere, not the bar scene that Richards' establishment has brought to the area.

Richards admits allowing amplified music in violation of her Alcohol Beverage Control license. She denies the fights and drunken people from her restaurant wandering in the streets. She said her patrons create "no trouble."

Since November, she said, she has taken the neighbors' issues into consideration by only playing acoustic music on the weekends and hiring a security staff to regulate patrons and parking issues. She said these changes are all permanent.

She's done what she can "to try and please them, but I can't please everyone," Richards said. "I wish I could. I mean, this is my community, too."

Neighbors said the noise and traffic have been reduced. However, they said when the weather warms, they expect it to be back to normal, or worse.

"No one wants a small business to fail during a recession," said Johnson, the landlord, who rents out three duplexes in the neighborhood.

She said she's having trouble renting out the one next door to the Green Parrot. She blames that on the noise and patrons.

"Maybe they can just relocate," Johnson said. "A place like that belongs on the Oceanfront or Shore Drive."

Jaedda Armstrong, (757) 222-5846, jaedda.armstrong@pilotonline.com