Archive for the ‘bar’ tag
Rum Runners, 724 Harden Street: October 2012 no comments
Well, that didn't last long.
Rum Runners replaced Jungle Jim's in Five Points early in 2012. Now, in late 2012, it has been replaced with ConCOCKtions sports bar.
So far, it appears the nautical mural remains.
UPDATE 24 June 2019: Add tags and map icon.
Grandma's, 724 Harden Street: October 2012 3 comments
Grandma's replaced China Garden in the old Kesters Bamboo House building back in late 2009, when the first two pictures above were taken.
In the event, it seems to have lasted about three years (and to never have gotten a finished sign as seen in the third picture taken around July 2012).
The next, and current, iteration is Kildare's Irish Pub.
UPDATE 24 June 2019: Add tags and map icon.
Jungle Jim's, 724 Harden Street: Early 2012 8 comments
Though I never went, it seems to me as though Jungle Jim's was there forever. I think I can remember seeing it when I visited The Parthenon in the 1970s.
As you can see from these pictures, it at least made the transition from the China Garden era to the Grandma's era as the front part of the building in which the bar is located changed concepts. (I believe that the whole building at 724 is under one ownership). Notice how the sign on the north side of the parking lot morphed from
China
Garden
Parking
Only
Towing
Enforced
to
Parking
Only
I'm not sure when Jungle Jim's closed, but it is listed in the February 2012 phonebook, so I am going with "early 2012". The follow-on operation, Rum Runners switches from a jungle theme to a pirate concept, supported by deck murals.
UPDATE 24 June 2019: Add tags and map icon.
Gooney Birds / GB's Grill & Bar / WG's Grille & Wings / Sharee's, 9810 Two Notch Road: 2007 9 comments
I know I took some pictures of this under-awning vacancy at Polo Plaza at least a year ago, possibly longer. In the event, I never could determine what had been there, and so never did a post on it.
I was going to Time Warner Cable in the same plaza the other day and noticed that the two suites were still vacant, so I decided to put it out there and see if anyone remembered what was there last.
The street address is 9810 Two Notch Road, and the two store fronts are designated "9-D" & "10-C" according to the stenciling. I notice however that other references to the plaza use only the suite letters, as in this LoopNet listing
UPDATE 8 July 2012: Commenter Clay identifies this place as a former Gooney Birds and then GB's, so I have changed the post title from "Storefronts" to that. I found that GB's Grill & Bar was listed in the Feb 1997 phonebook, so it was there at least until then. There's a gap in my phonebooks, but it appears that WG's closed in 2007.
UPDATE 9 December 2012: Add Sharee's to the post title based on commenter Natalie's info.
Bullwinkle's / RB's Sports Bar & Grill / El As De Oros / Bar La Movida: 4338 Fort Jackson Boulevard: 2000s etc 1 comment
This little, much bar-ed, building is on Fort Jackson Boulevard, at Crowson Road, near the former Check World, and Jesudi's and across the street from La Brasca.
As far as I can tell, El As De Oros means "The Golden Ace", and Bar La Movida means something like "Party Bar" or "Groovy Spot Bar".
El As De Oros applied for their liquor license in 2004, which puts a timeframe on that operation. I am unsure of the status of Bar La Movida. When I took these shots, I was sure it was closed, but they applied for a liquor license in April of this year (2011), so it's possible I just never drive by late enough to see anyone there. The only data point I have on Bullwinkle's is that it was listed in the February 1997 phonebook and I don't know anything about RB's at all.
Locals, 640 Harden Street: early December 2011 1 comment
I wasn't sure when I took these pix that Locals on Harden Street next to Sharky's was actually closed, but driving by this evening (15 December) confirmed that the place is dark, and that the windows are now covered over.
I am way older than the college bar demo, and really never hit them when I was in it anyway, so I never went to Locals. It does look like the rooftop area would be a nice place to hang out and people watch over Five Points..
The web site is still up, though the latest photos seem to be from September 2010.
College Bar Scene says
Deserves a bigger crowd than it gets.
which may be some indication of what happened.
(Hat tip to commenter Jordan)
UPDATE 3 March 2012 -- Now open again as Pinch. Some of the flatbread pizzas on the menu look pretty good:
Mote's Store / Frink Street Tavern / Frink Street Pub, 904 Frink Street: 2007 11 comments
The champagne of bottle beer -- is that like The Cadillac of Fords? It just seems an odd comparison..
Obviously this building in Cayce at the corner of Frink & Ferguson Streets has been there a long time, and has probably been many things. The only two I can turn up in google however are Frink Street Tavern and Frink Street Pub, and in fact I'm not entirely sure those are two separate businesses instead of a variant name or mis-listing. If the are two separate operations, then Frink Street Tavern came first with Frink Street Pub opening and closing in 2007.
I say that because the myspace page given on the street sign still exists (after correcting the backward-slash vs forward-slash typo), and proudly proclaims an opening date of 25 February 2007 (while still looking for bartenders and "Kareoke" performers on 18 February..), giving this description:
We are a local pub located at 904 frink street cayce south carolina ...We have pool tables , golden tee , silver strike bowling and many other games ...we have the lowest price drinks anywhere , most beer is only a buck most liqour is only 2 bucks .....we do Kareoke ... live music ,juke boxes ,and like to have a good ole time ...We play country music , classic rock, and other good music ,we are open monday thru saturday from 2pm until ...and available for private party rentals on sundays .....Please stop by and enjoy an ice cold beer and get to know us ...you will have a great time !!!!!!!!! call us at 803-791-5875
However, the place is not listed in my Feb07-Feb08 or Feb08-Feb09 phonebooks, so I surmise that it did not make it through the year.
The various real estate listings all make clear that at this point this particular "track" of land is being sold with the building as more of a afterthought than an asset.
UPDATE 6 February 2012: Added Mote's Store to the post title based on the comments (which you should read). Apparently it was a little-bit-of-everything type old-time store.
UPDATE 25 November 2012 -- Looks like somebody has bought the property and is doing some work:
The Village Tavern, 214 Berryhill Road: Feb 2010 4 comments
I finally got around to taking some pictures of The Village Tavern. This place was on Berryhill road, which is a frontage road on the north side of I-20, starting at Bush River Road and going east. I did not take it all the way to the other end, but it seems a fairly quiet road with very little traffic (though there is, of course a constant rumble from I-20 itself).
The area where the tavern building sits is quite pleasant. Visibility of I-20 is mostly screened by vegetation, and the tavern plot is very lush and grassy with Stoop Creek running behind the building, under a Berryhill Road bridge, I-20 and eventually into the Saluda River.
The tall neon sign at the edge of the property was the only part visible from I-20, and I would see it for years as I drove past either on errands in town, or on my way back to Aiken. Somehow I never got around to checking the place out while it was still open though.
Commenter Walt wrote this back in February:
The Village Tavern, 214 Berry Hill Road, is closing. It was established in 1968 and has been a local watering hole, pool hall, sports bar and grill for at least two generations of Columbians in the St Andrews area. Our group started having a boys night out on Thursday night back in the early 60’s when the Columbia Speedway was still open. Our hangouts then was the Tap Room on Lower Main and Don’s in Five Points. When Don sold out and moved on, we started hanging out at what is now the No Name Deli on Elmwood. When No Names expanded the dining area and closed the bar, we moved to the Village Tavern and have ben there ever since. I guess after next week we will have to find yet another gathering place suitable for a bunch of fussy 70 something year old, but young at heart, men who collectively are a store house of knowledge of, and enjoy talking about, old Columbia and Grand Strand resturants, cafes, bars, drive-ins, pool halls, road houses, etc., etc. from the late 40’s to the present. Also Carolina sports back to before the last Big Thursday and the McGuire glory days. And the stories get better and better as time goes by, we just need a place to get together to rehash them.
I hope they found another place!
Brickyard Shopping Center (Old Timey Meat Market / Gold's Gym / Macarena's Mexican Buffett / Creel Tax Service / Howle & Howle / Donna Nails / Garrett's & O'Carroll's Grille & Bar / Boral Bricks Studio / Peddler's Porch / Check Into Cash / Don Pedro / etc), 9940 Two Notch Road: 4 June 2010 8 comments
I wrote about this place before, or at least it's main building when I did a closing for Piggly Wiggly Store 62. After The Pig closed, the building became a Gold's Gym which with this demolition moves to the old Sofa Express slot at Sandhill (apparently with plans for the old Ashley Furniture Homestore storefront as well).
As of Sunday 20 June 2010, the site is in sort of an odd state. From the front it almost appears untouched, but most of the back side has already been completely gutted or torn down, leaving the facade as sort of a potemkin shopping center.
According to commenter "mg", Dick Smith Nissan will be locating here eventually.
Hi Hatt Drive In aka The Hi Hatt Club, 3830 Forest Drive: 1973 75 comments
UPDATE 7 June 2016 -- Many thanks to commenter Mandy for sending these pictures of the Hi Hatt:
Original post:
Well, there have been a lot of people over the past few years urging me to do this post. I have always put it off up until now as I have no personal memories of The Hi Hatt Club, and though I must have seen it many times up until I was 12, I cannot even recall the building. I was always hoping that I would run across a picture of the club, or would find an old ad that I could use to hang a post on, but that seems destined not to happen, so I will go with what I have been able to establish, and by consolidating various mentions made of the place in the comments.
Here's what I found out by looking through old phone directories last week. The Hi Hatt Club first appears in the Columbia Southern Bell listings in the August 1957 directory. The last time it was listed was in the December 1972 directory. At the start of its run, the phone number was given as SU-7-9143. That number was retained in each directory though with the advent of direct dialing the prefix changed from Sunset to became 787-9143. The name the club used for its directory listing was always Hi Hatt Drive In, and it listed under Clubs in the Yellow Pages though it never bought a Yellow Pages ad.
Given that other sources state that the club started in the 1930s, I'm not sure why listings only started in 1957. I suppose that in those days not every road-house felt it needed a phone, or perhaps the listing was under another name.
Here's what the Town of Forest Acres says on their web site in what seems to be a semi-official history of the town:
The town limits formed an irregular rectangle that paralleled Forest Drive. The original area of incorporation was two square miles with the northern and southern boundaries lying one half mile on each side of the road. The eastern boundary ran north to south a thousand feet to the east of Gill Creek. The western boundary lay two miles to the west paralleling the eastern boundary. The boundaries did not change right away, but over the years the city grew to the east and primarily to the north. Forest Acres was planned to be a residential area. Existing businesses were grandfathered in, but new businesses were not to be opened. Because of loopholes in the laws, this was not enforceable. To the chagrin of the local residents, the old Bethel School at the comer of Forest Drive and Landmark Drive (3830 Forest Drive) had closed, and the Hi Hatt (pronounced High Hat) Club had opened in the building. The Hi Hatt Club, an early form of nightclub, was in the area in 1935. The city founders would have liked to have seen it close, but it managed to stay open. Over the years, especially in the 1960's, the Hi Hatt Club was rumored to be a place of prostitution, or a "whore house," as such operations were called. Mothers shielded their children from it, but the Hi Hatt Club's reputation made it a big source of interest and a hot topic of conversation for teenage boys. Frowns and concern could never close it, but a good financial offer to purchase the land to construct office buildings finally brought it to an end. The city officials, from the beginning on, wanted only wholesome businesses in the area with protection and privacy for the nearby residential properties.
Here's a bit of information on the appearance of the club from commenter FirstDennis:
Does ANYbody remember the Hi Hat Club on Forest Drive, not too far from Beltline? I asked William Price Fox about it, because he is a wealth of info on stuff like this, but he cannot recall it. I swear I’m not making it up, though. It was a white wooden building. Had a neon sign shaped like a top hat.
Commenter BR suggests the place was informally known as Goldie's:
......
......
Commenter Michael Taylor passes along this information from his uncle:
Hi-Hat Club update: My 91 year old uncle is the last remaining person of that generation alive for me personally, and I’ve been hitting him up for city history a little at a time so as not to wear him out. The latest nugget should tickle all the “Hi-Hatters” out there. Dig this, before it was a honky tonk the building was a 2-room schoolhouse and my uncle went there for a bit. Unfortunately he is not a photographer and doesn’t even have a photograph of his old garden center. Oy vey!
Something a little less certain that I remember from my father talking about the Hi Hat Club back when it was still a working honky tonk in the 1960s is his insistence that a couple of scenes for the cult Robert Mitchum movie “Thunder Road” were filmed there in 1958 or so. According to this wikipedia entry for the movie, most of the principle filming was done in Asheville, NC, so this at least puts the production crew to within a few hours drive. It’s not uncommon to film several locations for one final composited location. In other words, if you were filming a honky tonk scene, you may film the interior of some place on the outskirts of Asheville and the exterior of some distinctive juke joint in the suburbs of Columbia SC and then edit them to look seamless. It seems excessive, but often one place looks better on the outside and the other place looks better on the inside and because they can, film crews do this stitching all the time and you’d never know it.
Going against my father’s story is that the South Carolina film database doesn’t have “Thunder Road” listed, however it mostly lists the films that have been primarily filmed here. It does list a “Thunder In Carolina” stock car movie (with Rory Calhoun and Alan Hale, Jr., the skipper from “Gilligan’s Island) filmed in Darlington in 1960, which my father could have been confusing with “Thunder Road”. But on the side of a film crew having filmed a few scenes at the Hi-Hat Club for “Thunder Road,” here is an interview with Mitchum’s son James on the 50th anniversary of the film where he mentions that some of the inspiration came from their South Carolina cousins’ moonshining and fast driving. I could see Mitchum coming down the short drive from Asheville for some scenes at the Hi-Hat Club, it was such a wild looking little honky tonk. I suppose one way to solve this would be to rent both movies and watch them with hawk eyes and keep an eye out for that crazy neon sign on top of the club. And speaking of signs, wonder what ever happened to that sign, bet it’s at the bottom of a trash heap somewhere.
I can see that place in my mind’s eye just as clearly as this computer screen, but sadly, 41 years or more later it’s not enough, especially with websites like this. Right this very moment there is a box of photographs with photos of places like the Hi-Hat Club and YOU may know the person who has them.
Comments from anyone who actually visited the club are welcome (and you can be anonymous if it really was an establisment of ill-repute at some point :-)! Pictures would be great too..
UPDATE 14 Dec 2010: I got the Montgomery book for my birthday. You can get it here:
Anyway, there is a section on the Hi-Hatt Club. To answer some questions asked here:
1) Yes, 'Goldie' was the proprietress.
2) The 1968 movie with scenes at the Hi-Hatt Club was not Thunder Road, but The Road Hustlers. (It does not seem to be available on DVD or VHS).
3) The book doesn't definitively settle the question of whether the Club really was a house of ill repute, but states "Due to a renewal of complaints about the Hi-Hatt Club's liquor violations and rumors of prostitution, SLED (State Law Enforcement Division) raided it in 1973.
4) There are no exterior pictures of the club given.
UPDATE 20 March 2012 -- Well, The Road Hustlers has surfaced (subtitled in Norwegian, of course). I have not watched the movie as such, but simply fast forwarding through it leads me to believe there is only one scene set at The Hi Hatt Club, stills of which, and a youtube embed, are below.
The exterior shots at the beginning (Hi Hatt sign) and end (front porch of Hi Hatt) are definitely the club. Unfortunately they are so dark as to be almost invisible. I don't *know* the interior shots for the scene to be the actual Hi Hatt Club, but it seems unlikely that a shoestring drive-in quickie would build a sound set for such a thing. Perhaps some old Hi Hatt patrons can comment..
