Despite recent improvements, a history of complaints related to noise and rowdy customers at Darna Lounge has attracted county scrutiny in a five-year permit review.
The lounge and restaurant at 946 N. Jackson Street has been the subject of 285 police calls and three citations for noise violations since 2019, a county staff report says.
Noting that these complaints have decreased substantially in recent years, the report recommends that the Arlington County Board approve a permit for live and entertainment and dancing — but with an additional review scheduled in one month.
“In response to these concerns along with documented calls for Police service and noise violations that occurred during this [five-year] review period, staff is further evaluating live entertainment and dancing operations at this establishment in concert with coordinated enforcement activities,” the report says.
The majority of police calls to Darna over the past five years concerned disruptive patrons, while 44 pertained to “loud music.” However, the report notes that calls to Arlington County police have dropped “dramatically” over the past two years, with the last citation for noise violations issued in May 2022.
County documents attribute the drop in noise-related calls to the Virginia Square establishment’s participation in Arlington Restaurant Initiative trainings. The lounge joined the program that promotes “responsible serving and safe bar operations” in 2020.
Staff from Zoning Enforcement, Inspection Services, the Fire Marshal’s Office, ACPD and the Dept. of Community Planning, Housing and Development (CPHD) all participated in reviews of the site, and none of them indicated any violations in the past year.
However, as a result of the ACPD call volume history and the three prior citations, CPHD recommended a one-month review of the renewal, which “will afford staff time to evaluate the establishment further” next month after the scheduled County Board vote this weekend.
This isn’t the first time in recent years that issues at Darna have come to the Board’s attention.
The county temporarily shut the lounge down in 2018 due to code violations and charged the owner with a misdemeanor for not obtaining proper permits.
Later that year, the lounge captured the attention of the celebrity gossip world after TMZ published a video of Tristan Thompson — Cleveland Cavaliers center and the father of then-pregnant Khloe Kardashian’s child — engaged with other women at Darna.
Noise complaints related to Arlington nightlife are an ongoing point of contention. At a County Board meeting in June, several residents expressed concerns about a perceived lack of code enforcement in the Clarendon area, especially as it relates to noise.
Photo via Google Maps.
