Columbia County tapas bar loses alcohol license; citizen points to bar hosting drag shows

Columbia County revoked a tapas bar’s alcohol license Tuesday over a county code food violation, which an irate citizen implied was a reaction to the business playing host to drag shows. 

Supporters of Renee Hajek, who owns and operates Stay Social Tap + Table, 7025 Evans Towne Center Blvd., consoled her outside the meeting chambers of the county’s Board of Commissioners after the 4-1 decision. Commission Chairman Doug Duncan cast the lone dissenting vote.  

Commissioners voted shortly after a public hearing in which county staff and officials presented evidence they say shows that Stay Social failed to abide by a county ordinance requiring that an “eating establishment” serving by-the-drink alcohol must derive at least 50% of its gross profit from food sales. 

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According to Hajek, the financial figures were interpreted without the framework of complete calendar years, and do not take into account the out-of-the-ordinary hardships that COVID imposed on the fledgling business. 

Paul Scarbary, Columbia County’s development services director, said the county learned of Stay Social’s possible code violation after Robbie Bennett, executive director of the Development Authority of Columbia County, brought it to Scarbary’s attention. 

Bennett said the development authority had extended to Stay Social a $64,000 grant and a forgivable loan of “about $36,000” to help foster and grow Hajek’s new business, which opened in 2020 at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

Part of the loan’s terms gave the development authority access to Stay Social’s financial records to monitor the business’ progress, including helping it cleave to the 50% food rule. If Stay Social met or exceeded that goal through the life of the loan, the loan would be forgiven. 

The authority examined two sets of Stay Social records for April and May 2021, received June 20 and 22, respectively. At the same time, Stay Social was promoting an event scheduled for June 29 titled Drag Me to Dinner, which featured costumed drag queens performing for customers. Online criticism questioning the morality of the event led to a planned protest at the business that never materialized. 

In both sets of records, Bennett said the authority found a line item of about $38,000 labeled “discounts and comps,” denoting reduced-price or complimentary food and beverage items given to guests. But in the second set of records, the $38,000 had moved to a section documenting alcohol sales.  

Adding that amount to the alcohol sales figures raised Stay Social’s food-sale percentage from 47.92% to 50.3%, which put the business in compliance with county law. 

According to the county, the records provided by Stay Social show the business sold 45.5% food in the seven months it was open in 2020, 47.92% in 2021 and 46.1% for the first few months of 2022.  

“And since then, she has done amazing getting her food sales up,” Bennett said about Hajek. “I think when I talked to her last week, she had August and September numbers well above 50%.” 

The authority has no interest in recouping the loan amount, he said: “We want to see her succeed. We want her to be successful and I think from the conversations I’ve had, the whole board has that feeling of, ‘We want to see businesses – especially businesses that we give taxpayer money to – thrive and be successful.’ She is definitely on her way to doing that.” 

In speaking to commissioners Tuesday, Hajek contended that the county’s use of the word “annual” regarding annual food sales is presented and applied ambiguously. That, she said, makes it difficult to determine whether “annual” refers to a calendar year, a fiscal year or merely a span of a few months. 

Also, financial statements provided to the development authority were not fully prepared and audited because Hajek said she believed the prevailing regulatory oversight for Stay Social’s financial health lay with Scarbary’s development services department. 

“I would like you to consider the extenuating circumstance of COVID – which was extenuating through every business, not just mine, and not just food and beverage – and not count those first five months we were in business, where we had to bring down occupancy to 45% inside, and we had to make a whole lot of adjustments to my business plan just because we opened smack-dab in the middle of COVID,” Hajek told commissioners.  

In a video posted to social media Monday, Hajek also addressed online concerns that the county’s approach to Stay Social’s alcohol license was retaliation for the initial drag show, which proved so popular that the event extended into a second night. Stay Social also played host to a July 30 drag show, titled the All-Star Bubbles and Brunch Cabaret. 

"I don’t think it’s because of the drag show. I don’t think it’s a bunch of haters sitting in their offices just waiting to stir up because we did something they don’t agree with. I don’t think that,” Hajek said in the video. “But I do think the drag show kind of shed light on it. I know a lot of people dug into my financial position in the county and probably put some heat on the county to look at my numbers. But at the end of the day, our numbers are there. We have worked very hard, and I mean tirelessly, to try to get there.” 

Evans resident Nikki Agnello remained skeptical, and told commissioners so after their license vote, during the public-comment portion of their meeting. 

“They were drag shows, and it was berated by Columbia County and a lot of the residents because of religious beliefs,” she said. "It creates a very bad optic that Columbia County knew this, they saw it, they didn’t like it, so they raise this concern and now they shut ’em down.”