Dolled-up seasoned revelers packed the joint near Town Center around 9 p.m. on a Thursday.

Feet shuffled on the dance floor. People chatting mingled around the edge of an upstairs bar. Leaning back into couches or over private tables, couples in their 40s, 50s and 60s canoodled.

Many of the men wore full suits, and their fancy fedoras and Stetsons dotted the room. Women sported dancing dresses and high-end jewelry.

It was July 24 and the soft-opening party at Kascades Lounge in Virginia Beach. The new R&B nightclub doesn’t admit anyone under 30. IDs are checked at the door. And the ownership is serious about its policy.

“That’s right,” Bernell Stallings said, pushing his way through the opening-night crowd and turning his fingers into air quotes. “Only for the ‘grown’ and sexy.”

Dressed to impress, hundreds attended the soft opening party at Kascades Lounge in Virginia Beach on July 24. (Stephen M. Katz / The Virginian-Pilot)

He owns the club with his wife, Karen Stallings, who later sat for an interview with The Virginian-Pilot.

“I just knew that at my age, I was not going to be dealing with 21-year-olds,” she said.

The business’s target demographic is 9-to-5 types looking for a spot to feel comfortable dressing up, relaxing and cutting a little bit loose.

“You know,” she said, “professional people.”

In its first month, Kascades has played host to doctors, lawyers, chamber of commerce members, and business and local NAACP leaders.

“We’ve had ministers in here,” she added, “dancing and having a good time.”

The large multistory lounge, with a dance area on the ground floor, is part of the Crowne Plaza hotel at 4453 Bonney Road. The second and third levels’ wraparound balconies are equipped with tables, a stage for live music, a DJ booth and a bar.

Virginia Beach’s new club, Kascades, features multiple levels on which to gather. (Stephen M. Katz / The Virginian-Pilot)

Leaning against a second-story railing, Virginia Beach City Councilman Cal “Cash” Jackson-Green stood overlooking the dancers.

“We’re here to give our full support on this soft opening to this business,” he said, before his attention quickly shifted.

He watched as an entertainer wearing a cowboy hat and holding a wireless microphone — a hype man, one might say — weaved through the dancers and groups of people below and shouted with gusto into the mic: One … Two … Three … DJ! … Scratch!! … Drop that beat!!!

The beat shifted to hip-hop, and Jackson-Green started to nod his head and move his feet.

Nearby, Stephanie Payton and Toletha Eleryan sat on a bench close to the bar discussing the new venue.

“I really like the atmosphere. I really think once they work out some of the kinks, then it will really be the place to go,” Payton said, adding she liked the dress code requiring patrons to dress up while permitting athletic apparel.

Eleryan responded it was just the type of place Virginia Beach had been missing.

Classic R&B brings folks to the dance floor at Virginia Beach’s new club, Kascades Lounge. (Stephen M. Katz / The Virginian-Pilot)

“This is dedicated for the older crowds so that we can get out of the house and have a place to come and enjoy ourselves,” Eleryan said. “Nice vibe, good vibe. Good food, nice pricing, great attire. This is just the place to be.”

Kascades Lounge serves small plate dishes, including burger and salmon sliders, wings and a house spinach dip. The Stallingses, who are part owners of the hotel that houses the club, also fully own Kascades Restaurant in its lobby.

While the lounge will be open starting at 7 most nights Thursday through Sunday, Karen Stallings said, its hours may vary until at least January when the new business will officially end its “soft-opening phase” and transition into hours allowed by permit. 

But no matter the time or day, the lounge will primarily play R&B.

“It can be mixed with a little hip-hop, but clean. It has to be very clean,” she said.

“I don’t want to be listening to music and getting cursed out nightly.”

Updates about Kascades Lounge’s hours and events can be found on its Instagram page.

Colin Warren-Hicks, 919-818-8139, colin.warrenhicks@virginiamedia.com

https://www.dailypress.com/2025/09/04/virginia-beach-kascades-nightclub/