Judge denies liquor license for Columbia's Five Points Roost

An S.C. administrative law judge has ruled that the state should not extend the liquor license for The Roost, a late-night college bar in Five Points formerly known as Pour House.

Judge Deborah Durden ruled that the establishment, which reopened under its new name last year after being closed by its owner at the urging of Columbia police, could not continue to operate under a temporary license.

The judge said that the bar at 800 Harden St. strained the resources of local law enforcement, contributed to underage drinking and would be a "nuisance" to the community.

She added that ownership of the bar was murky. The former owner of Pour House, Daniel Wells, who was arrested after police said he body-slammed a patron into the sidewalk on St. Patrick's Day weekend 2017, was a principal in the business despite claims that he wasn't, Durden said.

Perhaps more precedent-setting for other Five Points bars was Durden's ruling that the bar didn't serve enough food to qualify for a liquor license under state law. The vast majority of the nearly two dozen late-night bars in Columbia serve little or no food.

The "petitioner is not primarily and substantially engaged in the preparation and serving of meals and thus does not qualify for the liquor license," Durden wrote. "Petitioner’s application for an on-premises beer and wine permit, and liquor by the drink license, should be denied for all these reasons."

Five Points Roost owner Adam Ruonala could not be reached for comment Tuesday evening. He and his partners can appeal to the S.C. Court of Appeals.

Dick Harpootlian, the attorney for plaintiffs Thomas Gottshall of the University Hill Neighborhood, April Lucas of Wales Garden and a dozen others challenging the license, said the victory should have a ripple effect in the Five Points bar community.

"We won on everything," he said.

Bars in Columbia are able to purchase special permits that allow them to stay open after 2 a.m. under conditions such as no hard liquor sales after that time. Harpootlian said his clients would now ask the Department of Revenue to audit all late-night bars in Five Points to determine whether they sell enough food to qualify for a liquor license based on Durden's ruling.

"There should be no hesitation on the part of the DOR to enforce this order on all the other bars in Five Points," Harpootlian said.

Merchants, neighbors, building owners and others have said the urban village near the University of South Carolina is "out of balance" because it has too many late-night college bars. Most of them do not open until 9 p.m. and cater to younger USC students, many using fake IDs.

That results in drunken behavior, vandalism and violence, neighbors claim. The Pour House was considered by many one of the most egregious offenders when it came to code violations and arrests.

After the Pour House opened in 2006, Columbia police made 646 arrests at that address through April of last year, according to police department records. The charges range from underage drinking and drunkenness to aggravated assault.

The most public incident was the choking on St. Patrick's Day weekend 2017 of USC student Ryan Chisolm, 22. Wells is accused of choking Chisolm and dropping him to the ground outside of the bar’s front door.

Wells is charged with assault and battery, which carries a sentence of up to 10 years in jail.

Wells, who began operating the Pour House in 2014, voluntarily closed the bar after the incident. Ruonala told The State last year that while he knows Wells, the former owner is no longer a part of the business.

“There is no association,” he said. “While I have no problem with him personally, . . . I have no association with him. This is a new staff.”

Judge Durden saw it differently.

"The testimony and evidence of the financial dealings related to the ownership and capital contributions for establishing Five Points Roost, LLC are conflicting," she wrote. "I find neither (bar manager Stephen) Bland nor Ruonala to be credible witnesses, and the facts they testified to concerning the ownership and control of the business are unreliable. "

She added, "Daniel Wells is still controlling the business and has simply reorganized it and transferred his majority ownership interest into an LLC controlled by his mother."

Harpootlian said his clients also plan to oppose licenses for another bar purportedly owned by Ruonola, Rooftop, formerly known as The Attic. And he said they would challenge the renewal of licenses for all late-night bars they deem to be not conforming to the law.

"This is precedent setting," he said.

This story was originally published April 3, 2018 at 5:15 PM with the headline "Judge denies liquor license for Columbia's Five Points Roost."