Citing downtown violence, Brazilian steakhouse closes
‘Mall has become unsafe,’ chain owners say in email
NORFOLK — A MacArthur Center restaurant is closed after a pair of shootings downtown.
Texas de Brazil, a Brazilian steakhouse chain based in Dallas, said in an email that the chain closed its Norfolk location because of escalating violence in the area around the mall.
“Based on our evaluation of the circumstances, we have determined that the mall has become unsafe to the extent that we can no longer operate safely there,” the company said. “We cannot jeopardize the safety of our staff and guests; both of which are our primary concern.”
Patrons who had reservations at the restaurant received emails alerting them to the closure, according to several posts on the “Hampton Roads Restaurants — Take Out, Delivery & Dine In Options” Facebook group.
The closing comes after recent deadly incidents downtown. A March 19 shooting near Chicho’s Pizza Backstage on Granby Street killed three people and injured two. No arrests have been made or suspects named. Then, an April 2 shooting inside MacArthur Center killed one man and injured two. Police have named 39-year-old Gary Latrail Moore as a suspect in that incident, and the U.S. Marshals Service is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for
information that leads to his arrest.
Texas de Brazil leaders’ decision to close and relocate came after the shootings, according to the email. Once it has a new location and opening date, the company will let the public know through social media and its website. The restaurant was on the first floor of the mall near the Monticello Avenue entrance.
Jim Wofford, MacArthur Center general manager, declined to comment on the restaurant’s decision. However, he said no other tenants had approached him about security concerns.
Kimberly McKinnis, co-founder of the art collective For All Handkind, said she felt safe in her mall location and had just signed another yearlong lease. In January, she set up an experimental unstaffed honor-system kiosk, which has sold several items and had not been destroyed or damaged.
“This is how much trust I place in the public and in MacArthur Center,” McKinnis said.
After the shootings, Norfolk police also set up six mobile surveillance cameras on Granby Street. While each takes up a parking space, the cameras are “a force multiplier” for the department, Norfolk City Manager Chip Filer told City Council members.