Residents, business owners and police react to the closing of internet cafés in Belleview
BELLEVIEW —During two city commission meetings, Belleview's elected officials agreed to close all eight internet cafés operating in town, despite opposition from a majority of the people who were in attendance at those meetings.
The city was serious, and the rule is now in effect. On the doors of each former internet cafe there now are posted white, rectangular signs with red block letters: "CLOSED BY ORDER OF THE BELLEVIEW CITY COMMISSION ORDINANCE # 2023-11 DO NOT REMOVE."
In Belleview, which calls itself the "City with a small town charm," some say they did not mind having the arcades as a neighbor while others are happy the cafes are no longer in business.
What happened to the internet cafés in Belleview?
Last month, the commission — Mayor Christine Dobkowski and City Commissioners Ray Dwyer, Michael Goldman, Ronald T. Livesey and Robert "Bo" Smith — unanimously agreed the businesses were no longer welcomed in the city.
The cafés' legality became an issue when several owners told Police Chief Terry Holland that the machines at their businesses were illegal. Police and state officials decided to check the café sites. They discovered that some of the devices on the properties were not legal.
Holland said his agency does not have the manpower or expertise to investigate this kind of activity, nor the space to store any machines seized during an investigation. The city decided to determine, once and for all, whether the cafés — operating on and off from as early as 2010 — should be allowed to remain in the city, which is 3.3 square miles in size. The cafés were opening seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.
City officials had placed guidelines on café owners. For instance, the cafes were required to have security guards on site. Also, they could not be located near a church, school, child care facility or fixed school bus stop. And they were not allowed to sell alcohol.
The city also charged a $5,000 annual registration fee. Business tax for the café was $52.05 annually, and owners were charged $100 per machine. The eight cafés had 527 machines total.
The city of Belleview joins the county and other local municipalities in banning internet cafés.
Business owners and employees react
Ian Schuepbach is an employee at Canadian Discount Services, 10111 U.S. 441, close to the now shuttered Good Time Arcade. He told a Star-Banner reporter "I'm glad they left" and said he "feels safer."
Schuepbach said when the café was open, the parking lot was filled with trash. Now that it's closed, he said, the parking lot is more presentable.
"It stopped overnight," he said about the trash dumping.
At Shalom Trade Corp, a dry cleaning business at 10133 U.S. 441, owner Chul Lee and his wife, In Lee, said they have no opinion one way or the other about the closures. Their business is near the now closed Moonlight Internet Café.
To the Lees, the cafe employees were "nice" and friendly and would clean the sidewalk in front of the stores at the strip mall.
Although the Lees said they did not visit the café, the cafe employees supported their business.
"They were my customers," Chul Lee said.
Madelyne Singh owns Glambelle Hair Bar, a salon at 10907 U.S. 441. One day she hopes to offer wine or light refreshments while customers are having their nails done. She said she never had a problem with her former neighbor, the Game X Arcade.
In fact, Singh said some of her older clients told her they were sad to see the cafe go because it gave them "something to do."
"It was an outlet for them," she said.
She said the café brought "life to the area" and potential customers to businesses. Singh said she felt safe since a security guard was always present. Trash and bad behavior "never spilled over to my business."
As for the police department: Officers patrolling the city at nights have seen a difference. It's "more peaceful," without so much traffic — vehicles, pedestrians, bicyclists —bouncing from café to café, Holland said.
The chief said calls for services associated with the cafés — typically related to trespassing and homelessness — are no longer ran issue.
Travis Thorpe's wife owns Pasta Faire, and he's a community liaison for the business. He is a vocal opponent of the cafés, and had no problem speaking out against them at public meetings.
"I'll continue to do it," he said.
As a city resident, Thorpe said he doesn't mind any business coming into the city. In fact, he said new activity helps existing businesses. His problem is how the new businesses affect existing businesses.
Thorpe said the demographic changed from afternoon to nights, and that's when the crimes were committed. Those crimes, he said, for the most part were not reported to the police.
"They (internet cafes) put themselves out of the city," he said. "I love this community."
He hails the mayor and the city commission as "the best thing that has happened to this city" and applauds them for taking such a bold stand.
The owner of the now closed Fun Land Arcade, Akash Patel, said he made anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 a week. Patel said he had two security guards who were paid $23 an hour; six employees earning $15 to $18 an hour plus tips; and a cleaning lady.
At the second Belleview commission meeting, where the final vote was taken, Patel offered to pay the city $25,000 every three months. He said the cash could be used by the police department for training to identify illegal machines, learning state regulations, or conducting other training. City officials rejected the offer.
Internet cafés: It's over and out for internet cafés within the city limits of Belleview
For now, Patel said, there's not much he can do.
"We abide by the rules. I think they were not willing to listen to us," Patel said. "What's the difference between us and the casinos?"
Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Mixed reviews on internet café closings in Belleview
