Dumfries Takes Legal Action Against Mayor Wood’s BBQ Business for Multiple Violations

In an unusual move, the Town of Dumfries sued its Mayor because it alleges his business, Dyvine BBQ on Acts Lane, has consistently failed to comply with the ordinances the Mayor had voted to enact. The manager plans to take further action soon.

In a February 2024 complaint to Prince William Civil Court, the town of Dumfries says Mayor Derrick Wood’s business, Dyvine BBQ, violated 12 separate ordinances regarding permitting, signage, customer seating, trash removal, and insurance requirements.

Prince William General District Court Judge William E. Jarvis agreed with the Town and issued an order requiring Mayor Wood to pay a $400 fine and comply with the Town’s Ordinances.

Mayor’s Ordinance Violations Spark Controversy

The Town code was first adopted in 1995 and updated and approved by Mayor Wood in 2018 to specifically prohibit temporary food vendors from operating more than 12 hours a day at any one location and prevent food trucks from remaining parked overnight with all trash and signage removed daily—something the Town says Mayor Wood’s own business has not abided by.

The Town claims that Dyvine BBQ has violated the ordinance for some time. In an October 2023 Town Council meeting, Councilmen Tyrone Brown and Brian Fields motioned to remove parts of the ordinance that Dyvine BBQ was not compliant with.

Town Council Rejects Exemption for Dyvine BBQ

At the October 2023 meeting, Mayor Pro-Tem Selonia Miles said, “We have to be very intentional about how we grow Dumfries, to amend this zoning amendment for one business is not the way to do that. That business should probably just pursue another avenue.”

After consultation with the Virginia Ethics Board, Mayor Wood recused himself from the discussion and did not participate in the vote. Ultimately, the council voted against changing the zoning in favor of the Mayor’s business, and the Town advised Mayor Wood to correct his company’s deficiencies.

Local Business Owners Protest Unequal Treatment

Other business owners claim Mayor Wood’s business has violated town ordinances for years, and it wasn’t until business owners threatened to quit complying with town ordinances that the town finally took action against the Mayor. Kay Vickers, owner of Kay’s Citrine Soul Food, said she got fed up and told town officials that she would no longer “pay for a permit until the Mayor pays for a permit.”

Vickers said her civil disobedience forced the town to begin enforcement actions against Mayor Wood’s business. “My husband and I had a vision to grow our business in Dumfries, but my biggest fear is investing more money into my business in a town where the Mayor can do whatever he wants and can block my ability to do business because he’s the mayor and I’m a competitor to his business,” she adds.

County records show Dyvine BBQ’s landlord, Johnson Commercial Realty, purchased the property once occupied by Reid Funeral Home in October 2019. The funeral home owner, Shaun Reid, was accused of using the property to store human remains and perform embalming without a license illegally. A cursory look at historical street views shows that Mayor Wood’s food truck appeared at the property sometime between the 2019 purchase and 2021. Judge Jarvis tossed out a separate fine from the Town against the landlord.

Town Manager Tangela Innis said she “can’t speak for what happened before her tenure,” but under her watch, “all businesses will be held to the same standards.” Innis, who came to Dumfries in April 2023 after over a decade in multiple roles at the city of Petersburg, vowed to run the Town of Dumfries professionally.

Mayor Wood has paid his fine and said he’s “corrected all the Ordinance violations, and [he’s] in full compliance.” Town officials say that assertion is false, and the original violations still exist at the property on Acts Lane.

In an email statement, the town is resolute in bringing Dyvine BBQ into compliance with Town Ordinances: “The Town of Dumfries is anticipating issuing new citations this coming week, as we have allowed [Dyvine BBQ] some time to rectify the violations after receiving payment of the fine issued.”

Town Ordinances allow the Town to treat the violations as new violations each day, allowing the fines to accrue until the Ordinance violations are corrected. So far, the town has only issued the $400 fine from the February inspection. Outside counsel was hired explicitly to remove the appearance of impropriety as town officials navigate the unusual process of holding the Mayor accountable.

Previous Lawsuits Highlight Mayor’s Financial Troubles

This is not Mayor Wood’s first brush with civil action against him or his businesses. In February 2024 R&A Design Studio obtained a judge’s permission to garnish the wages Mayor Wood received from the Town Council to pay $14,564 in past rent on his defunct events center. A recent filing in the Prince William Civil Court states that although garnishments started in February, Mayor Wood still owes nearly $13,000. The Mayor was not present for his court date on October 23 to respond to the latest garnishment request, and Judge Che C. Rogers dispersed the previously collected garnishment to the legal counsel for R&A Design Center without Mayor Wood or his representative being present.

In August 2023, Dyvine BBQ was sued for $25,000 after a 53-year-old customer from Springfield claimed a 23-year-old employee assaulted her after the customer attempted to get burned chicken remade. The claim resulted in a non-suit because the plaintiff failed to secure legal representation before the hearing. In a phone interview, the customer, Monica Souter, was frustrated because she felt that lawyers did not want to represent her everywhere she went after hearing that Wood was the defendant.

“They told me I’d never see a dime from him,” Souter said. Souter alleges the assault has left her with a rotator cuff injury that still affects her today. “I’m a grandmother. I didn’t go there to fight. I had my granddaughter and her friend with me. I thought it was a professional business, but the way I was treated said something completely different.” Souter said she’s hopeful an attorney would pick up her case. “It’s not right, the way I was treated,” she said.

In September 2020, a debt collector sued Mayor Wood on behalf of Paul Davis Design of Ashburn to collect money owed after Mayor Wood contracted the company to repair a leak in his basement. The suit was dismissed without reason, but a representative of Paul Davis Design said they still have not received the $414.51 payment for the work they performed in 2019.

Ebony Lofton, a candidate for one of four candidates vying for three council seats up for election this November, said, “It is concerning that someone with so many lawsuits filed for monies owed can be in charge of the budget of our town.”

Overspending Scandal Adds to Mayor’s Challenges

The town’s budget is $11 million. In Dumfries’s system of government, the Mayor does not have direct control of where the money goes, but he does have the power to suggest how the money is spent, and ultimately, he and the council vote for the expenditures.

The Mayor’s ability to suggest how money is spent was on full display earlier this year, and our report showed that the town overspent an eye-popping 135% of its allocated $100,000 budget for the Town’s Anniversary Gala.

Days before the event, the council had to approve $35,000 in emergency funds for items Mayor Wood and the Gala contractor had agreed to outside the council’s vote. During that meeting, council members argued over who was responsible for the overspending.

Vice Mayor Monae Nickerson and Councilman Tyrone Brown pointed fingers at Mayor Wood, who claimed to have overseen the citizen committee responsible for the celebration and worked closely with the planning contractor hired to plan the event.

“You are a chef; you should have known that braised beef and salmon is more expensive than chicken,” said Nickerson, citing Mayor Wood’s personal business at Dyvine BBQ.

Mayor Wood is serving his second term as Mayor of Dumfries. He was first elected to the Town Council in 2014 and as Mayor in 2018.

Mayor Wood lobbied to bring The Rose, a soon-to-open gaming resort, to the town. Most recently, he’s been a fixture at White House parties and is featured in a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee urging people to vote for Kamala Harris and down-ballot Democrats who will support gun control.

During his tenure, Mayor Wood used the council chambers as a private broadcast studio for a YouTube show titled “Spotlight Dumfries,” where he interviewed Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Fairfax) and Prince William County Supervisor Andrea Bailey and promoted sponsorship opportunities on his show. For $1,200, a podcast sponsor could receive a “key to the city” of Dumfries, part of three different sponsorship packages available.