Big Daddy’s Bar & Grill in Portsmouth is the target of a civil lawsuit over a slew of crimes at its location. (Thé N. Pham | The Virginian-Pilot)
By Tim Eberly
The Virginian-Pilot
© December 7, 2013
PORTSMOUTH
During business hours Friday, Big Daddy’s Bar & Grill’s front door was locked – its parking lot empty.
No one appeared to be inside or answered phone calls. There was no sign for patrons. The sometimes-bustling bar won’t be open for business this weekend. Or any future ones.
The owner of the nightclub suddenly shut down operations Thursday, declining to fight a civil lawsuit from the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.
Big Daddy’s owner Linda Weiland chose to shutter the bar in order to focus on helping a sister who needs medical attention in South Carolina, said her attorney, F. Sullivan Callahan.
Callahan delivered a letter Thursday afternoon to the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control’s regional office in Chesapeake. The letter, obtained by The Virginian-Pilot, contained a single paragraph.
“As a result of family medical issues, my client is no longer operating Big Daddy’s Bar & Grill and has closed the same as of today’s date,” Callahan wrote.
Included with Callahan’s letter was the business’s license to sell alcohol, which he surrendered on behalf of Weiland.
“She just said, ‘Look, it’s easier for me to shut down,’ ” Callahan told The Pilot on Friday.
Big Daddy’s closure fell on the same day that The Pilot published a front-page article about the commonwealth’s attorney’s intent to close the bar on the grounds that it was a nuisance to the community.
Since 2008, 52 crimes have been reported there, and police have fielded 428 calls to respond to the establishment, according to the prosecutor’s lawsuit.
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Tim Oksman, who is handling the suit against Big Daddy’s, said the closure of the bar was “a very positive development. I’m pleased with it.”
Oksman said he needs to meet with Commonwealth’s Attorney Earle Mobley, who was out of town Friday, to decide how to proceed.
Callahan declined to discuss the suit’s contention that Big Daddy’s had become a haven for criminal activity while the bar’s management offered no help to police.
He did say that, for the past three years, Weiland has been dealing with several ailing relatives, including a brother who died in Vietnam and a brother-in-law who died in South Carolina, Callahan said.
“She hasn’t been here,” Callahan said. “In the last three years, she’s been between (Vietnam) and South Carolina more than she’s been in Virginia.”
But the bar’s problems go back further than three years.
Big Daddy’s has been issued four ABC violations since 2007, including three for submitting inaccurate information about the bar’s inventory and sales of food and alcohol, according to ABC records. The other stemmed from selling alcohol to an underage person.
In addition, ABC had issued 10 written warnings dating back to 2006. Among them: incidents of disorderly conduct, loitering and failing to keep proper records.
The bar had been open since December 2004, according to city records.
At other businesses on Turnpike Road on Friday, it was business as usual, though some weren’t pleased with the news.
Across the street, used car dealership manager Wilson Goode said the nightclub didn’t disrupt his business.
“I’m never glad anybody’s closing their business,” Goode said. “People go into business to make a living.”
For Roy Boykins, who owns Munchies Snack Shack nearby, the closure will take away some of his revenue. He said the manager and bar workers frequently bought food from him.
“They order from us, so I’m kind of sad they’re not going to be open,” he said. “It’s not good news. They’ve been really nice to me.”
Callahan said he doesn’t know what’s next for Weiland after she tends to her sister. Weiland has owned nightclubs and restaurants in Hampton Roads for many years, he said.
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