The Camel, one of RVA’s most beloved venues and watering holes, is asking fans for support at an upcoming city planning commission meeting in the hopes the hot spot can
The Camel, one of RVA’s most beloved venues and watering holes, is asking fans for support at an upcoming city planning commission meeting in the hopes the hot spot can extend their hours for live entertainment to 2 AM like most other venues in town.
“We’re looking for as much support as possible,” said the Camel’s owner Rand Burgess. “I have no clue what to expect…”
Burgess wants to allow music and entertainment to go last call like every other bar in town. For the last almost 6 years, The Camel has been cutting music off on 11 PM week nights and 1 AM weekends. They’ve never been issued a citation, but the cut off has left the quality local music venue at a disadvantage.
Burgess started getting the word out about his request some time ago with a Cheats Movement blog post. “It’s a great venue for all genres of music and if amending the permit will help their business survive. It is well worth it.”
RVAPlaylist.com echoed Cheats’ statements. “The Camel has always been, in my eyes, a music venue first and bar second. People come to the Camel to see live music,” wrote Andrew Cothern, RVAPlaylist’s editor. He just threw his blogs 4th birthday party at The Camel to great success. But even he noticed the issues the venues faces after the bands are cut off.
“Once the music stops, most people don’t have a reason to stick around and promptly leave. This results in lost revenue that the Camel could use to improve its business and bring in more acts.”
The city planning commission meeting is set for Monday, 6/2, at 1:30 PM at Richmond City Hall – 900 East Broad Street, Room 511. See you all there.
