The revocation of Stay. Social, Tap & Table’s alcohol license has set off a fire storm of discussion in the community in particular Columbia County. Make no mistake; Stay. Social, Tap & Table is a bar. The commission exhibited great leadership when it voted to revoke the license after the bar failed to comply with the county’s alcohol ordinance.
Columbia County is pro-business and is always seeking to grow. This is evidenced by the program that gives incentives for new retail to come to the area, of which Stay. Social, Tap & Table partook. Voting to revoke the license should not be seen as a shift by Columbia County in an anti-business direction.
The current ordinance states that all establishments that sell alcohol must have 51% of their revenue derived from food sales. This measure is designed to protect the county from having bars. Everyone knew that Stay, Tap and Social was a bar. It was obvious. Evidence showing food sales being under the 51% threshold should not be a surprise.
The Columbia County Board of Commissioners exhibited great leadership in that they made a tough decision on a vote that they knew would garner negative publicity. But it was the right decision, and they should be commended for it.
MORE: Commissioners revoke Stay Social Tap & Table’s alcohol license
Commissioners could have extended a grace period for the sales to get back into compliance. It is unclear as to why that route was not taken. Whether the recent drag show that garnered plenty of news coverage had any bearing on their decision is not clear, and the timing does seem suspicious. Regardless, it was the commission’s decision to make, and members were under no obligation to negotiate.
If the ill-timed drag show held by this bar had any bearing on commissioners’ decision, it is not clear. Citizens have voiced their opinions via comments on theaugustapress.com and social media on both sides of the discussion. Regardless of whether the drag show had any bearing on the commission’s decision, the bar was not in compliance of the ordinance.
People usually go to bars to drink alcoholic beverages, not eat a meal. Clearly this bar was never in compliance, and any grace period would not have fixed that. Rather than drag out attention to the matter and have multiple future news stories with the same outcome, the commission chose to end the matter once and for all, knowing they would be criticized for it.
Had the vote gone differently, it would have set a precedent that could endanger the future of the alcohol ordinance, making it easier for restaurants to get out of compliance and bars to enter the county. That is not a direction many in Columbia County want to see, despite the vocal minority.
Columbia County’s leadership has done a great job of creating a community that is clean and safe. The alcohol ordinance is designed to preserve the quality of life most residents of Columbia County enjoy. If you are a resident in Columbia County let your commissioner know what you think. They want to hear from you. It will be easier for them to make bold decisions and vote the right way for tough measures in the future if they know their citizens are in support.
