There's a floor plan requirement, too, where at least half of the seats in an establishment must be at tables or booths, rather than at the bar. So there aren't the traditional narrow bars like in most cities, where you walk in and it's a few high tops plus the bar itself.

Throw in the food requirement (and more importantly, the requirement that the kitchen always be serving full entrees while alcohol is being served), and you basically don't have bars in Virginia.