City Council allows Papi’s to reopen with temporary nightclub license
The Miami-style LGBTQ+ bar, Papi’s, in Shockoe Slip. Richmond City Council voted to give Papi’s back their nightclub license and reopen after almost a year of closure on Nov. 10. Photo by Kieran Stevens.
Molly Manning, News Editor
Andrew Kerley, Executive Editor
Richmond City Council voted unanimously Monday to allow Papi’s, an LGBTQ+ bar in Shockoe Slip, to reopen with a temporary nightclub permit.
The bar has been closed since January after the city shut it down for permit and occupancy violations, according to a previous report by The CT.
After approval from the Richmond Planning Commission, City Council and a personal request by Mayor Danny Avula, Papi’s will be allowed to operate as a nightclub — meaning it can stay open and serve drinks until 2 a.m. — for 18 months after it receives a new occupancy certificate.
The permit grants the bar permission to extend operating hours on Friday and Saturday nights with “occasional” DJ’d events.
Papi’s owner Adrienne Lodoño wrote that the bar serves as an inclusive environment for the LGBTQ+ community to “feel safe and enjoy food and cocktails in a fun atmosphere” in her Applicant’s Report for the nightclub permit.
The Miami-style club is one of few LGBTQ+ bars in the city, and many employees and community members shared disappointment at its closure. Supporters wrote 30 pages of public comments alleging the bar was unfairly scrutinized for being a part of the LGBTQ+ community. Lodoño agreed, according to Axios.
William Reynolds was one of the former employees at Papi’s who were forced to scramble for work after the establishment was shut down. He mentioned in a public comment that people have been asking him about reopening ever since.
“They tell me that they loved the space and miss it dearly,” Reynolds stated. They tell me that it was the one establishment in Richmond that made them feel fully welcomed, safe, appreciated, and able to authentically be themselves.”
The Shockoe Partnership and several neighboring business owners near Papi’s submitted their own public comments, alleging the club’s late-night activity was harmful to the mostly residential neighborhood.
“This atmosphere is unwelcoming to visitors who may be patronizing other businesses and harmful to residents in the vicinity of these clubs,” stated Spencer Grice, president of The Shockoe Partnership.
Some supporters disputed those claims. Resident Bryan Collins, who wrote he had worked in the neighborhood since 2013, described it as predominantly commercial.
“In fact, since my first visit to Richmond in 2010, Shockoe Slip has been not only home to, but defined by the string of restaurants along Cary St. that double as raucous nightclubs,” Collins stated. “The fundamental identity of the neighborhood and its economy is the very ‘late night activity’ that the Shockoe Partnership claims is antithetical to the district’s growth.”
3rd District City Counselor Kenya Gibson said during the Monday meeting it was fitting to reinstate Papi’s license on the same day the Supreme Court decided not to reconsider Obergefell v. Hodges, the landmark case that protects same-sex marriage on the national level.
The Papi’s owners posted a statement on their Instagram account remarking on their victory and thanking the community for helping them achieve it.
“There has been many times over the past (almost) year where I wanted to give up because it had become so hard emotionally, mentally and financially,” the statement read. “But every time I thought I had reached my limit, this community found a way to remind me why I opened Papi’s in the first place.”
