VIRGINIA BEACH — Two Virginia Beach nightclubs off North Great Neck Road have closed following a fatal September shooting in the parking lot.
Central 111 Tapas and Lounge and Venue 112 sports lounge, two businesses that were known to draw late-night crowds in Renaissance Place shopping center, had been the subject of scrutiny from nearby residents and Councilman Stacy Cummings, who represents the district.
After the shooting, Cummings discussed constituents’ concerns about violence in the area with Virginia Beach officials. City staff met with Breeden Companies, which manages the property, and with Billy Hudson, who owns both clubs, a city spokesperson confirmed.
Hudson did not return several requests for comment this week. A person who answered the phone number for Venue 112 confirmed it’s closed.
Virginia ABC issued a written warning to Central 111 for failure to submit an annual review report earlier this year, but the business had no other recent alcohol license violations as of Sept. 30, according to a documents provided through a Freedom of Information Act request. Venue 112 was undergoing a pending investigation, but the details were redacted in the response to the FOIA request.
In early October, Breeden Companies restricted the shopping center tenants’ operating hours to 11 p.m. The two nightclubs, next door to each other, used to stay open until 2 a.m.
Both recently closed and a spokesperson for Breeden Companies confirmed that leases for the two properties will terminate Nov. 30.
“They had to close at 11, which severely crimped their business model,” Cummings said.
In late October, social media pages for Central 111 switched promotions of its events, including Karaoke Mondays and Latin Thursdays, to Central Shore, a bar on Red Tide Road off Shore Drive. It is also owned by Hudson.
The shooting in the shopping center parking lot occurred around 2:15 a.m. on Sept. 27. Cesar Bermudez Evans, 21, was charged with second-degree murder and using a firearm to commit a felony, for killing 20-year-old Juelle Morton.
Police said video obtained from the nightclub shows Bermudez Evans got out of vehicle around 2:15 a.m., approached Morton with a gun, then shot him several times. Morton, a Newport News resident, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com
