THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 1, 1994 TAG: 9408300175
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 05 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE KNEPLER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
No matter which way Reginald Cromartie argues it, he comes up short with the Planning Commission.
Three years ago, Cromartie could not convince the commission to approve an alcohol sales permit for Club Expo, which he then owned with his brother, Timothy.
Last Thursday, Cromartie returned to the commission, this time to fight an alcohol permit.
He asked the panel to deny an alcohol permit for Selma's Chili Parlor, which plans to open at the same address, 3910 Colley Ave., where Club Expo once was located.
In doing so, Cromartie briefly allied himself with some Colonial Place residents who opposed his alcohol application in 1991.
Cromartie told the commission he was not opposed to Selma's restaurant, only to the alcohol permit. He also adopted some arguments of Colonial Place neighbors.
He urged the commission to hold off approval of Selma's permit for two years as a way of making the restaurant prove itself.
While the commission did not go along with Cromartie, it also did not give Michael Cavish, Selma's owner, everything that he requested.
On a 3-1-1 vote, the panel said alcoholic drinks could be sold daily only until midnight, instead of till 2 a.m.
Commissioners Ewin A. Ottinger, Donald L. Williams and Barbara Zoby voted in favor. The Rev. Anthony Paige voted against the permit, noting the presence of a church in the vicinity. Robert Layton abstained.
The City Council still must approve the permit.
But Cromartie left City Hall in disgust.
``I came to test the system,'' he said afterward. ``I feel that I was discriminated against.''
He alleged that he was denied an alcohol permit in 1991 because he is black, but the commission approved Cavish's because he's ``part of the old boy network.''
``There was no way they were going to deny the license,'' Cromartie charged. ``They had their minds already made up. The only issue was the hours of operation.''
Cavish had asked to serve alcohol to 2 a.m. to compete with nearby restaurants on north Colley Avenue that have that cut-off time. ``I'd like a level playing field,'' he said.
``I can bring a clean-run establishment to this location, maintain it seven days a week and not have any problems,'' said Cavish, who also owns Fellini's in Ghent and formerly owned the now-defunct Judge's Chambers downtown.
Other conditions on the permit include closing the parking lot's 40th Street access, installing landscaping and exterior lighting and requiring security guards in the parking lot after dusk. Also, the restaurant cannot have live entertainment, video games nor more than two pool tables.
Neighbor James Akers sought the midnight alcohol limit while James Pearson requested controls on entertainment. Both noted that the permit actually went to the land, not the owner. They said they were concerned that a future owner might not be as responsible as Cavish.
``When Mr. Cavish first came forward it was like manna from heaven,'' Pearson said. ``My concern is if the earth opens up and Mr. Cavish not be with us.''
Commissioners and planning staff said they wanted to avoid problems that plagued Cromartie's Club Expo and its predecessor, The Main Event.
Both nightspots were the scene of run-ins between patrons and police. Also neighbors had complained about loud, late-night noise and other disturbances.
Club Expo, also known as the Expo Restaurant & Lounge, closed in the spring of 1992 in exchange for having the General District Court dismiss or suspend more than 30 violations.
Cromartie still maintains that the disturbances were provoked by a conspiracy of police and neighbors against Club Expo.
But after last week's planning commission meeting, Cromartie said he may return with a request to turn his Sound Effects electronics business on Colley Avenue into a restaurant that serves alcohol.
``I guarantee it, though, they'll shoot me down again,'' he contended. by CNB