The Hampton Planning Commission recommended by a 4-2 vote the revocation of a use permit for Karma Restaurant and Lounge after multiple fights and assaults this year have led to increased police patrolling in the area.
Karma will preserve its use permit until its revocation is approved by City Council. It’s unclear when the council would vote.
If approved by council, it would be the second Hampton restaurant to lose its permit in recent months after council voted to revoke a permit for Chances Restaurant and Lounge last month.
Karma received its first use permit in January 2024 to operate along Lincoln Street downtown. The bar was licensed to operate until 2 a.m. nightly, though permits banned owners from contracting third-party promoters to host events.
Karma was the scene of a deadly shooting in April, which led to short term suspension of its liquor license. But Hampton officer Tyler Zminkowski said police have had 65 calls for service to the bar, including 11 for fights since its opening.
According to Zminkowski, Karma’s security has not been sufficient to prevent incidents that require police response.
Owner Courtney Ray said some of the security incidents, including the April homicide, were a reflection of a broader trend in the city rather than Karma, and he relies on his security staff to handle incidents at his business.
“I chose Hampton because I love Hampton. I live in Hampton,” Ray said. “Some of the things that are occurring with patrons really does not reflect on me. I can’t control what people do. People get drunk, they fight — I don’t know why.”
Zminkowski highlighted several major security incidents Hampton police have responded to this year, including assaults in June and September, fights in January and this month, disorderly conduct in September and an April 11 homicide where a patron was shot in a parking lot 30 feet from the front door during business hours. Zminkowski added security failed to monitor the parking lot before the shooting and outdoor security failed to report the shooting to indoor security.
In November, police said a bar security member assaulted a patron. Police found an “agitated person” in the parking lot outside Karma who was intoxicated and bleeding, Zminkowski said. The person said a member of Karma’s security team assaulted him. Security told officers they acted in self-defense after being shoved, but security video showed staff shoved the person first, took off their security vests and began punching the patron.
“There have been consistent issues with violence at the business that we’ve had to address,” Zminkowski said.
That’s left police stretched thin as they’ve had to increase patrols in the area near Karma, Zminkowski said. Hampton police also have repositioned a real-time camera, implemented multi-officer responses for crowd control and assigned more police to help monitor the area.
Karma already has its liquor license suspended following the April homicide for failure to take reasonable action to prevent the violent incident, according to interim Deputy of Community Development Steven Lynch. It was restored two weeks later under a negotiated resolution which increased the mandatory minimum number of security to six, required them to ensure people do not loiter and created a contract with Hampton police for extra-duty police coverage.
A citywide compliance check in July found several issues, including only five security personnel instead of the required six, according to Zminkowski. A person wearing a security shirt fled into the restaurant from his position outside the front door, and another staff member hid an occupancy counter from police and clicked it rapidly to conceal the true count.
“I have a lounge that, unfortunately, we can’t trust the security to make sound decisions, as you’ve seen multiple times, they choose to engage in fights with the patrons as opposed to calling us and allowing us to resolve it,” Zminkowski said. “I have a business owner who I believe is deceptively practicing, not being open with us when all we ask is basic compliance.”
Additionally, police have received reports of several other incidents that violate Karma’s permits, including a pattern of loitering, window treatments that obscure visibility into the lounge, third-party promoters and unpaid State Corporation Commission fees that have rendered the permitholder’s corporate existence lapsed since May.
Ray told the commission he’s worked to ensure his business practices comply with city code and any issues have been addressed. However, he contracts his security from another company and said he was unaware of several incidents police highlighted. He argued his business shouldn’t be punished for the actions of people he can’t control.
Some commissioners, including Chair Michael Harris, said they wanted to defer the vote to allow Ray to come up with improved security plans. Others, like Kathy Rogers, said not knowing what happens outside your business is no excuse for a continuing pattern.
“If you were not aware of what’s going on in and around your establishment, the communication between you and your employees must be non-existent,” Rogers said. “When I read what happened when the homicide happened, I was so affected by that because we had a part in that. Our commission had a part in that, and now somebody is dead.”
She added Ray should be held responsible for the environment he creates for his patrons.
“It’s very hard for me to think that the atmosphere inside of your business is calm and wholesome and friendly when there’s so much violence outside of it,” Rogers said. “I have a hard time saying that you don’t bear some responsibility for the behavior of your customers.”
Devlin Epding, 757-510-4037, devlin.epding@virginiamedia.com
