RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — A non-alcoholic bar in Richmond has finally opened its doors after a year-long battle against the Virginia Department of Health.
8News previously reported about the obstacles “KavaClub,” a business aiming to sell kava tea in Richmond, faced when applying for a business permit last year. Now, the doors at KavaClub are officially open and business has been booming. However, their key ingredient, kava, is missing from the menu.
According to the National Institutes of Health, kava is a plant that has a mild psychoactive effect on its users when brewed.
Fred Bryant, the owner of KavaClub, said he was finally able to open the doors after a lengthy battle with the state — but he’s only able to sell non-alcoholic drinks and kombucha for now.
“I think we’ve done everything that we need to do to be able to serve Kava in Virginia and then some,” Bryant said. “So, hopefully the Department of Health will let us start serving kava very soon.”
Bryant said his dream for the last year has been to brew and sell kava, but he wasn’t able to open his doors until last week.
“It’s been terrible at a personal level, it’s been devastating financially,” said Bryant. “It’s the worst experience I’ve ever had been some tough places.”
Bryant says the tea tends to have a calming feeling and helps reduce anxiety, and it’s available right down the street at places like gas stations and vape shops. That’s because kava itself is legal in Virginia.
Bryant explained the business was originally declined a permit to open because the Virginia Department of Health classified kava as a food additive.
“It’s that water somehow adulterates kava, and therefore makes it a food additive, which we can’t get any scientists to agree that’s the case,” Bryant said.
Some progress was made in January, when the department said the business could get a permit to open but couldn’t use the ingredient for which the business is named yet.
“The Department of Health said that they were relying on FDA guidance and denied us a permit to operate. But that was actually not the FDA guidance that was out there as we had contested the whole time, so we were able to get that clear in January,” Bryant said.
Bryant said they are still waiting for the all clear from the state to sell kava. He said he hopes to be able to soon.
“It’d be nice to be able to operate a business and, you know, be able to do things in an unencumbered fashion. You know, that really is where we want to get to,” Bryant said.
8News reached out to the Virginia Department of Health for a statement and has not yet heard back.
KavaClub is now open from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.
