Gastonia city council selects restaurant for downtown theater

GASTONIA, N.C. — Crews could soon turn a downtown theater in Gastonia into an upscale restaurant.

Gastonia restaurant owner's wife turns self in on drug charges

City Council voted this week to sell the Webb Theater to the owners of Mooresville restaurant Epic Chophouse.

Channel 9's partners at the Gaston Gazette reported that competitors can still out-bid the $375,000 deal.

The theater became vacant when Nick's Steak and Taphouse went out of business in January. The city told Channel 9 the owner fell behind on payments.

Popular Gastonia restaurant closes following drug arrest

Nick's had been in downtown the last four years and a week after it closed police arrested the owner's wife, Regina Lavecchia, on felony drug charges.

Channel 9 obtained warrants claiming she packaged, sold and distributed cocaine to an informant. Sources said she sold the drugs near the restaurant.

Read more about the story here.