A pair of Five Points bars have had their liquor license renewals denied, and the matter is headed to a court case that will see the establishments challenged by attorney and state Sen. Dick Harpootlian.
The state Department of Revenue has conditionally denied the alcohol license renewal requests of Group Therapy, located at 2107 Greene St. in Five Points, and Saloon, which is next to Group Therapy at 812 Harden St., according to documents provided by the department.
The cases are now headed to state Administrative Law Court. The bars can continue to operate and serve alcohol until the court hearings are resolved, attorneys and revenue officials said. Court dates have not been set for the two bars.
Protests of the bars’ liquor licenses were initially filed in July by Coley Frank Adams, a resident of the Wales Garden neighborhood that borders Five Points. Harpootlian, who also lives in Wales Garden, is representing the protesting neighbors. Meanwhile, attorneys Bakari Sellers, himself a Wales Garden resident, and John Alphin, both of the Strom Law Firm, are representing Group Therapy and Saloon.
This is not the first time Harpootlian and nearby neighbors have taken on Five Points bars for what they see as rowdy behavior coming from the longtime nightlife district that is popular with University of South Carolina students.
Harpootlian has challenged at least half a dozen liquor licenses in Five Points over the years at the request of nearby neighbors. Most recently, Harpootlian’s firm was a key player in helping shut down Moosehead Saloon and Pavlovs in 2021, both formerly popular among college students.
It’s also not the first time Harpootlian, long a towering figure in South Carolina’s legal and political circles, has challenged Group Therapy’s liquor license renewals. His firm also went after the iconic bar — which opened in 1978 and, since 2016, has been owned by legendary former USC quarterback Steve Taneyhill — in 2020, but a judge ultimately ruled the bar could renew its alcohol licenses at that time.
Sellers and Alphin represented Group Therapy in the 2020 case as well.
This time around, Harpootlian says he is specifically challenging Group Therapy and Saloon over a section in the SC Constitution that says establishments must be primarily and substantially in the business of serving meals in order to obtain alcohol licenses.
“The issue is going to be, do they comply with the South Carolina Constitution in that their business is primarily and predominantly the service of meals,” Harpootlian said. “I want to litigate that issue. We’ve danced all around it.”
Harpootlian plans to argue that the businesses are chiefly engaged in selling alcohol. Both Group Therapy and Saloon have food menus posted online.
The longtime attorney said he used to frequent Group Therapy, but claims it has changed through the years.
“I went to Group Therapy in the 1990s when they had live music,” Harpootlian said. “You didn’t go down there to just stand around and drink. You went down there to listen to Hootie & the Blowfish or many other local bands. … A big chunk of the time it was open it was a music venue. Today it’s just a bar.”
Sellers, an author, CNN pundit and former state representative, notes he plans to vigorously represent Group Therapy.
“The bar will be in accordance with the law,” Sellers said. “Group Therapy is going to be there for a very long period of time. I’m going to make sure Group Therapy is there so that Dick Harpootlian’s grandchildren can one day enjoy it just like he did.”
As for Saloon, Alphin said the Harden Street establishment, “operates in accordance with South Carolina law and will continue to do so,” adding that both Group Therapy and Saloon operate “above and beyond the rules” pertaining to SC bars.
Source Agencies
