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Council revokes Southern ComfortRestaurant & Lounge use permit after shootings and security failures
Summary
Following staff and HPD testimony about a shooting, fights, broken exterior cameras and failures to notify police, Hampton City Council revoked Southern Comfort Restaurant & Lounge's use permit; management presented corrective steps and ownership disputed some factual points but the council voted to revoke.
Hampton City Council voted May 27 to revoke the Restaurant 3 use permit for Southern Comfort Restaurant & Lounge at 2163/2165 Cunningham Drive after staff presented multiple incidents and security lapses spanning 2025—2026.
Staff and Hampton Police Division described a sequence of incidents the city says violated use-permit conditions: failure to notify the police in writing when the event area was used, missing or nonfunctional exterior cameras not connected to the real-time information center, unreported violent incidents and inadequate security patrols. Officer testimony included the timeline of a shooting and later fights: "Dispatch received a call from Sentara CarePlex in reference to a walk in gunshot victim," HPD told council while summarizing the April 5 incident and related responses.
Southern Comfort representatives, including General Manager Nia Poe and owner Eddie Gomez, acknowledged the seriousness of the footage shown to council, described immediate corrective measures (terminating security staff who failed to meet expectations, hiring additional licensed security, instituting mandatory exterior patrol rotations, implementing written confirmations for extra-duty officers, and removing window tint). Poe said the establishment has completed RTIC integration and repaired cameras and asked the council to consider enhanced oversight rather than revocation.
Council members repeatedly pressed management about why cameras were not connected at the time of violent incidents, why extra-duty officers were not contracted for late-night operations, and why HPD was not contacted when a gunshot victim arrived at a local hospital. After public- and staff-comment periods closed, Councilwoman Harper moved to revoke the use permit; the motion carried by roll call.
Staff explained that, if revoked, the business could operate as a Restaurant 1 (no alcohol/live entertainment) or seek other permits subject to conditions and limits on hours and entertainment.
