HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WMBF) – A popular Murrells Inlet biker bar could lose its alcohol license for violating the governor’s executive orders.
WMBF Investigates obtained documents from the South Carolina Department of Revenue (SCDOR) stating that the agency is seeking to permanently revoke SBB’s Alcohol Beverage Licensing.
The State Law Enforcement Division issued an administrative violation on July 23 to SBB for disobeying the governor’s order.
An administrative violation is in connection to a business’ alcohol license. SLED hands out the violations, but it is up to the SCDOR to decide the consequences that the business will face.
The documents state that the violation stems from the week of July 13-19, “and in particular in hosting a concert for the act Bone Thugs-N-Harmony on July 18, 2020,” which violated Gov. Henry McMaster’s executive order that classified concert venues and night clubs as non-essential businesses.
“The Myrtle Beach Bike Week ‘Spring Rally’ took place July 13-19, 2020. During that time, SBB advertised extensively that it was hosting multiple live musical acts every night between July 13 and July 18, 2020. Several of these concerts were free. Upon information and belief, SBB did not limit the attendance at the concerts or take any other measures to comply with the applicable Executive Orders,” according to documents provided by the SCDOR.
Department of Revenue docum… by WMBF News
The agency added that the biker bar knew that the coronavirus pandemic was a threat due to the fact that the Spring Bike Rally had been postponed to July from its original date. It also mentioned that SBB’s website and Facebook page were aware of the pandemic by selling “Corona Survivor” t-shirts.
The documents go on to state that due to the “egregious and frequent” violations of the governor’s executive orders, the departments found that the bar’s beer, wine and liquor by the drink license should be permanently revoked.
“SBB’s flagrant disregard for the law and for the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Horry County and the State of South Carolina justifies a permanent revocation of its liquor license and beer and wine permit,” the documents state.
The biker bar can now appeal their case to the Administrative Law Court and fight the revocation.
We also called the general manager of SBB who didn’t provide a comment and said that the bar was operating as usual and serving alcohol.
WMBF News has emailed the owner of the bar to get a statement on the matter and to ask if he is fighting the decision by SCDOR.
Documents from the agency show that SBB will be fighting the charges against the bar.
The attorney for SBB, Ken Allen, also emailed WMBF Investigates and said that their client is looking forward to their day in court.
“They believed they were in full compliance during the July rally and none of the law enforcement present, including SLED, advised them otherwise,” said Allen.
Nathan’s Sky Bar in Myrtle Beach and Uncle Tito’s in Murrells Inlet were also given administrative violations.
In those cases, the DOR is seeking a $500 fine against Uncle Tito’s. It’s in connection to a case back in April, when deputies and SLED agents said they found several people inside the bar drinking. During that time, an executive order was in place the prohibited dine-in restaurants and bars from being open. Ten people inside the bar were also cited in the case.
In the case against Nathan’s Sky Bar, the agency determined that the bar was operating as a nightclub, which was in violation of the governor’s order. Nathan’s Sky Bar appealed the violation and a court hearing was held on July 22. But before the court could issue an order, the governor rescinded his executive order, allowing nightclubs to reopen. Therefore, the violation against Nathan’s Sky Bar was dismissed.
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Source: WMBF News