The Whig: Ten years of making Columbia ‘more interesting’

The Whig has been called many things over its 10-year tenure on Main Street.

A mole hole. A place that “doesn’t try to be too clean.” Somewhere a vampire would draw victims to (“but in a good way”).

Co-owner Phill Blair prefers his own unique description of the underground bar: “1950s hunting lodge meets dive bar meets your grandparents’ creepy basement.”

Maybe not the first place that comes to mind for a drink and a bite to eat, yet The Whig has been a staple watering hole for Columbia locals since opening in 2005.

It’s also gone beyond the basement and out into the community, servicing gatherings and festivals, keeping an eye on city government and taking to Twitter to gripe when necessary.

Some say that’s what make it so special – although others will tell you it’s the 75-cent tacos.

The place itself is an amalgam of dim lighting, macabre decor and dissimilar crowds.

On any given night, there will be suits sitting at the bar, where a saber-toothed tiger skull is mounted to the wall, next to a veterinary model of a cat skeleton. A group of young creative types occupying the small side room, which is bedecked with animal heads and a taxidermic turkey. A college-aged guy in a button-up shirt waits for food next to a tattooed girl with a half-shaved head.

The overall effect is strange, cool and cozy.

Before The Whig, there was Rupert’s Blue Dog Cafe. When it went up for sale in 2005, friends Constantine Pournaras and Jonathan Robinson swooped in, ripped up the carpet and made everything darker – much darker.

“Everything looks good in the dark,” Pournaras joked.

There wasn’t a lot happening on Main Street at the time, he said. “The joke was that the only thing open were wig shops.”

They added another, The Whig, with an “H” for distinction.

There’s also a political connection, according to Blair, who became a co-owner in 2006. Pournaras doesn’t remember that being the original intention, but it was bound to happen, considering the bar is a stone’s throw from the South Carolina State House.

Historically, The Whigs were Patriots who opposed tyranny and fought for independence. They inspired a political party that formed in the mid-19th century.

For several years, The (Columbia) Whig was home to Pub Politics, a weekly webcast where Democrat Phil Bailey and Republican Wesley Donehue talked about South Carolina and the nation.

When the South Carolina House voted to remove the Confederate flag from the State House grounds in July, The Whig celebrated with a tweet: “Neighbors are cleaning up their trashy yard.”

In another tweet later that month, the bar pleaded for an update on the City Council meeting, where council was discussing a resolution authorizing the consumption of beer and wine at Arts and Draughts, an event collaboration between The Whig and the Columbia Museum of Art.

“It’s important to know how those decisions affect us,” Blair said.

The bar has long had a partnership with Arts and Draughts. The Whig’s beer and music selections have brought a new, younger crowd to the quarterly event, the museum’s director of external affairs Joelle Ryan-Cook said.

“Phil and the staff at The Whig have really become a community-involved business,” she said. “They really care about how they can give back.”

In addition to Arts and Draughts, the bar helps with Indie Grits at The Nickelodeon Theatre, First Thursdays on Main and the Jam Room Music Festival.

“They’re a critical cultural angle on Main Street in terms of going above and beyond what a normal bar would do,” said Andy Smith, executive director of The Nick.

“We share a mentality in that we don’t just stay within the walls of our businesses. We use our businesses to make sure we’re making the city more interesting.”

Blair attributes his civic-mindedness to being a lifelong Columbia resident. It’s something that’s helped the bar grow in influence over the years.

Of course, there are still those who wander down the stairs looking for Rupert’s, Blair said.

“People will walk in and say, ‘How long have y’all been here?’

“Ten years.”

Erin Shaw

This story was originally published August 11, 2015 at 4:56 PM with the headline "The Whig: Ten years of making Columbia ‘more interesting’."