New family-owned American restaurant approved for Columbia

The city of Columbia has granted a parking variance to allow an American bar and grill to open on Devine Street.

Bryan Norris, owner of Hickory, N.C.'s popular Backstreets Grill, said the new restaurant will be identical to the North Carolina location, which he has described as “halfway between fine dining and neighborhood sports bar.”

The restaurant will be located in a small former office building at 3006 Devine St., next to the new Urban Cookhouse.

Developer Frank Cason sought a parking variance, asking that the project be allowed to go forward with 28 parking spaces rather than the required 36. Ten of those parking spaces would be leased from an adjacent building.

Some neighbors opposed the variance at a Board of Zoning Appeals hearing on Tuesday, saying that the building, at 4,500 square feet, and the lot, at 13,998 square feet, was too small for a restaurant.

However, supporters noted that as the neighborhood becomes more walkable and with the prevalence of ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft, the city's parking requirements were outdated.

"It'll be good for Columbia, good for Shandon and good for property values," Cason said.

Board members voted unanimously to approve the variance.

"I think it's a good balance," board member Gene Dinkins said .

The family chose Columbia because Norris' stepson, Casey Peissel, graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2014. Peissel will run the Columbia restaurant.

Norris said construction on the 90- to 100-seat restaurant will begin "as soon as possible," with hopes of opening later this year.

Norris opened the Hickory restaurant in 1996. Its motto, ironically, is “Great Food. Good Friends. Bad Parking.”

This story was originally published May 8, 2018 at 2:26 PM with the headline "New family-owned American restaurant approved for Columbia."