West Columbia’s lone pride bar is closed until further notice. Bill Kinsey, who took over The Spot on Meeting St. this spring, told the Chronicle he will reopen in about a month.

Per the bar’s Facebook page, it has been closed since at least June 17, when a post announced that all events were postponed until further notice. A second post on July 28 announced that The Spot would be “coming back soon ... with a vengeance!”

“Major good things in the works,” the post declared. “You know what they say ... ‘good things come.’”

An Alcohol Beverage Licensing notice was posted to the door as of last week announcing that the bar, specified as Meeting Street Bar (The Spot’s name before it settled on its current title), had applied for a beer and wine license and a liquor license.

“I have all the permits but have to wait on the ABL,” said Kinsey, who added all fees have been paid. 

He said the license couldn’t transfer when he took over ownership, which is why he had to submit new documentation. 

Kinsey confirmed that the business has applied for the licenses through the state Department of Revenue, and he is waiting for the paperwork to come back to allow him to reopen the bar legally.

He expects to have that paperwork in hand and be back open “hopefully within the next 30 days.” He added that staffing hasn’t been an issue during the temporary closure.

The bar doesn’t come up on the Department of Revenue website when searching for suspended or revoked licenses.

Kinsey took over the bar when founding owner Walking Eagle, who opened the pride bar as WE’s on Meeting in the spring of 2022, decided to retire and live out her dream of residing on a houseboat.

Throughout its run and changing names, the owners have maintained that The Spot is West Columbia’s first and only pride bar. A gay bar, Vice, opened a few years ago in Cayce but has since closed.

Kinsey affirmed that the spirit and perspective of the bar wouldn’t change when he took over earlier this year.

“Nothing is changing. It’s all staying the same. It’s not going to change,” he told the Chronicle in April. “It’s going to be a comfortable community bar for everyone.”