Locker Room RVA

not a strength of the city.

LOL Hilarious

The main issue is Virginia has really archaic bar laws. Tobacco Company is probably best you can get here.

That's insane. I wasn't aware of the bar laws. So how do wineries get away with it? I've been to a couple in the area and I don't even remember seeing food on the menu.

So the simple answer is you have to sell at least as much food as liquor in VA so everything is going to be a restaurant. There are some new hotels/hotel bars that might be doing cool things but I haven’t been to any so not sure if they tried to do a club vibe.

There are some agricultural loopholes wineries can take advantage of. Something about actually using the land of the establishment to grow crops allows them to operate differently. It was explained to me once but I can’t remember much of the details.

They passed special laws recently for breweries, which i believe Hardywood's founders were involved with, to put them on par with wineries. Because it's good for Virginia and nobody gets their knickers in a bunch about people drinking beer until 10 or 11.

In 2012 we passed the bill that allowed the brewery Renaissance that we are currently in. Previously breweries could not sell beer without food and also could not directly sell beer. Legend had to sell their beer to Brown distributing and then buy it back. That's how we went from 2 breweries to dozens.

https://m.styleweekly.com/richmond/bill-allows-brewers-to-skirt-abc-food-laws/Content?oid=1688886

Latin Night? Sounds like a good time at Tropicabana!

I wish

I went to one of the places downtown once to just sit in the corner and drink and watch people have fun because I am a wallflower. I ordered chicken tenders because I'm 12 and the cook came out of the back and like, hesitantly handed me a small plastic basket with paper lining and some chicken and french fries. I didn't really think anything of it until I started eating and one of the chicken tenders was like, a shockingly different. Like they ran out and had to run to the gas station to buy more. I honestly think I saw him peering around the corner to see if I was going to eat it. I did, and was scared, but nothing bad happened that I know of.

Anyway it was late on a Saturday night and no one else was there. So I dunno if that is what you would consider fun.

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Is there even a place with a large dance floor?

There is a punk bar in VA Beach that serves "food" in the form of having a waitress microwave canned sloppy joe and put it on a bun. Bars have to offer some form of cooked food and pay a fine if alcohol sales are over a certain percent of total sales. A handful will offer some trash that is not recommended for actual human consumption and just pay the fine.

You named some of the worst clubs in major cities- if you like those check out Therapy, if you don't like Therapy maybe check out Tobacco Company Club

Closed. I read in a comment yesterday they lost their ABC license

Nope!

Best bet for techno/house is the jungle room

There’s basically little to no “traditional” nightlife in RVA. A bunch of mediocre breweries in my opinion, a few decent spots, and a bunch of just chill spots.

Richmond is definitely not a club/nightclub city.

Fallout in shockoe bottom

Which place?

I mean, they play music. There's really nothing stopping people from dancing. Bring your own colored and flashing LED lights for a little extra pizzazz.

Rockfalls Tavern

I don't think there has been since Off theHookah closed in 2016. That could hold over 600 people.

That had the feel of big city nightclubs, although perhaps smaller in size.

https://m.styleweekly.com/richmond/off-the-hookah-will-close-in-july/Content?oid=2339196

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I remember The Hat Factory was pretty nice also.

Oh yeah, I was never in there but forgot about that place.

I remember Have a Nice Day Cafe charged something like a $10 cover to get in. That cover charge went towards the buffet they had off in a corner. So that apparently covered the liquor license requirements.

Aces just had boosie

Rip cyber 4 cafe

Rvalution was cool when they did it years ago, now it’s Carmax lol

Nottttttt quite. Local DJs occasionally play shows, but its nowhere near a nightclub. Though if electronica is what OP is looking for, Basic City, Canal Club also host events from time to time.

Is cyber 4 already done?

Best recommendation yet lmao

Sometimes Godfrey’s has techno

The jungle room, fallout