Columbia Co. residents upset after local business has liquor license revoked

EVANS, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Columbia County leaders voted to take away Stay Social Tap and Table’s liquor license after reports showed the restaurant failed to bring in at least half of its sales from food.

We went to check out what this means for the rest of the area now that one of the locally owned businesses can not sell alcohol.

After Tuesday’s meeting, some are wondering what impact this will have on other business owners looking to run successful restaurants.

Many people in the community say it’s upsetting to see this happen to a business looking to grow.

“She’s trying her best to be successful in this county. I just don’t like taking anyone’s license away,” said Bob Bero, neighbor.

Bero walks in Evans Towne Center Park many times throughout the week and has been going to Stay Social since it opened in 2020. He also likes to go to other nearby businesses on his trips.

Bero believes this decision impacts more than just a restaurant.

“I’m an adult. I can choose to come and go. I don’t need the county to come in and take my rights away,” he said.

However, Commissioner Doug Duncan said they couldn’t bend any rules because of popularity or location.

“We can’t choose which laws we obey and don’t obey. So some things may not work out well,” he said.

Bero doesn’t buy into why this happened.

“I thought it was a little hypocritical. That’s all I can say because I don’t know the exact reason that they did this. I think it was more than the alcohol issue,” he said.

The county says this decision was “made based on the data” which had the business less than three percent away from hitting the legal quota. They also said that’s all the information they’re going to provide.

We reached out to The Chamber of Commerce to see how they’re helping small businesses deal with the county’s ordinance. We will let you know when we hear back.

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