Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

Well I don't have a lot to say about 5 Points Roost, having never been in. The place is another casualty of Dick Harpootlian's liquor license enforcement project.

I suspect the most fondly remembered operation in this spot remains Frank's Hotdogs.

This Five Points bar (in the former Frank's Hot Dogs location on Harden Street) has been in the news a good bit lately. As The State said in May:

The Pour House bar in Five Points bar has agreed to give up its business license later this month and to close by 2 a.m. until then.

Columbia police announced the agreement Friday, saying owner Daniel Wells has “voluntarily relinquished” his license as of May 22.

Police Chief Skip Holbrook last month declared the bar a nuisance, citing a history of fights and other problems at the bar, including underage drinking and serving alcohol later than permitted by city law.

And later:

A former owner of the Pour House, a popular bar in Five Points that was closed down after police called it a nuisance, is asking a Richland County court to throw out portions of a USC student’s lawsuit against him, saying they exist only to humiliate the owners, tarnish their reputations, raise passions and inflame the media.

As I recall, I was only in the place once, probably sometime in the 90s, to see The Impotent Sea Snakes, who had just been in the news for outrageousness. In the event, they had to tone down their show, and weren't good enough musicians to make up for that -- or that was my opinion at the time.

I just noticed that I did a Pour House post, when it was closed temporarily for remodeling. I think that's when the monkey decor went away.

Commenter MikeJ points out that The Pour House in Five Points has been closed since June, though it is scheduled to re-open soon.

I suppose it's been The Pour House for quite a while now, but to me this spot will always be Frank's Hotdogs.
(Hat tip to commenter MikeJ)

This corner building, now the site of The Pour House was the long-time location of Frank's Hotdogs, yet another of the many Columbia restaurants I was going to "get around to" and never did before it was too late.

From what I could gather in years of walking and driving past, the place was open late-nights and had a diner-like setup with a serving counter and tables around the walls. It appeared that the owner took a certain pride in the "basic" nature of his setup, and for many years, a window slogan proclaimed "No Reservations Required". Curiously, given how uncommon non-Sandy's hotdog places are, Frank's was just down the street from Lum's Hotdogs. I don't know if their years of operation overlapped at all though.