Issuu

INtouch

PO Box 7577, Columbia, SC 29202

november 2020

PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID COLUMBIA, SC PERMIT 168

Save the date! Restaurant Week South Carolina is an 11-day celebration at hundreds of participating restaurants. From fine to casual dining, participating restaurants will feature special menu items, promotions and discounts. Learn more at RestaurantWeekSouthCarolina.com.

SCRLA Member Spotlight Scofflaw Brewing Co. Founder Pledges More Than $200,000 in Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina Scofflaw Brewing Co. has pledged over $200,000 for the hospitality industry relief donations through partnerships with the Giving Kitchen and Bottleshare in Georgia, KultureCity Alabama Restaurant & Hospitality Association, in Alabama, and the South Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association. Through each partnership, Scofflaw Brewing is committed to supporting hospitality service workers in need of financial assistance due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. Scofflaw has provided additional contributions to the Georgia Chapter of the NAACP, Project South and the Georgia Center for Opportunity. Scofflaw has partnered with the Giving Kitchen and Bottleshare to create two “Scofflaw Matched”, GoFundMe donation pages. In addition to Scofflaw’s charitable matching campaigns, Scofflaw Brewing Co. founder, Matthew Shirah, donated more than $100,000 in Publix, Target, and Kroger gift cards to various organizations. In South Carolina, Scofflaw donated $25,000 to the South Carolina Restaurant & Lodging Association to create the Hospitality Employee Relief Fund. Through a formal application process, $250 grants were redistributed in the hospitality industry to employees who had been financially impacted by the pandemic. To date, the Relief Fund has raised more than $50,000 through generous donations from various donors. Additionally, Scofflaw donated over 200 gallons of hand sanitizer to the SCRLA. “Now more than ever, leaders in the alcohol and beverage industry should be doing anything they can to support hospitality industry employees, including our own. These folks have made this industry and Scofflaw what it is today, yet they continue to face the most difficult circumstances imaginable,” Shirah said.

Win Against SC-DOR in a Beer and Wine Permit Revocation Case A significant opinion by the South Carolina Court of Appeals regarding beer and wine sales has recently been issued. In the case, the beer and wine permit holder sold beer to an underage person for the fourth time. The S.C. Department of Revenue’s penalty guidelines provide that when a business has sold beer to an underage person for the fourth time, the penalty is revocation of the permit. The S.C. Department of Revenue (DOR) argued that the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) was required to revoke the license because DOR is the state agency that regulates beer and wine and therefore the judge must follow DOR’s penalty guidelines. Despite DOR’s argument, the ALJ declined to revoke the permit but instead suspended the permit and assessed a fine. The judge also considered certain mitigating factors that DOR argued the judge could not consider. The Court of Appeals disagreed with DOR and held that the ALJ’s ruling of nonrevocation was within his authority and the judge was not required to comply with DOR guidelines. Attorney Zoe C. Sanders argued and won the case for the permit holder. Zoe Sanders is a criminal, civil and regulatory lawyer with broad and in depth experience helping individuals and entities through complex issues. Ms. Sanders can be reached at 893-960-3109, The Sanders Law Firm of South Carolina LLC. 1727 Hampton Street, Columbia, S.C. 29201. The Court designated its opinion as not constituting precedent for future cases.

As Winter Weather Approaches, Restaurants Get Creative with Outdoor Dining For many restaurants across the nation, outdoor dining has served as a crucial pivot to recapture business lost because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced cities to shut down indoor dining to prevent the virus’s spread. As winter approaches and temperatures drop, restaurants in locations with colder weather are starting to rethink how to keep outdoor dining open. Research from the National Restaurant Association found 1 in 6 restaurants closed permanently or long-term amid the pandemic. And as more states report rising numbers of COVID-19 cases, there’s a fear more restaurants will shut down. Time is ticking. According to a survey of 3,500 restaurants operators by the restaurant organization, establishments said they will be able to continue offering outdoor dining until November. Nearly half of all full-service restaurants (49%) say they will take actions to extend outdoor dining, including adding tents and patio heaters. The National Restaurant Association is urging local leaders across the country to offer more incentives to expand the outdoor dining season. In a letter last month to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the organization suggested moves such as easing the process for obtaining permits to offer outdoor dining, and providing tax credits toward equipment used toward outdoor dining. “While not a substitute for the resumption of full capacity indoor dining, actions that local leaders take to extend the outdoor dining season will help restaurants of all sizes in the community,” wrote Mike Whatley, vice president of state and local affairs for the association.

Upcoming ServSafe Manager Classes GVL/Spartanburg - Nov. 17 Bluffton/Hilton Head - Nov. 19 Charleston - Nov. 23 GVL/Spartanburg - Nov. 24

Charleston - Dec. 5 Columbia - Dec. 8 Charleston - Dec. 9 GVL/Sptbg - Dec. 10

SCRLA members receive a 20% discount using the code SERV2. To sign up, visit AtlanticFoodSafety.com

The SCRLA Kicks off Hospitality Leaders Golf Week at Four Courses Across South Carolina The South Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association kicked off Hospitality Leaders Golf Week at four courses around the state October 19-22. Golfers had the opportunity to play one course or all four at RiverTowne Country Club, Orangeburg Country Club, Barefoot Resort and Golf, and/or The Preserve at Verdae.

Celebrating the best of the best in the Upstate’s hospitality industry The South Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association (SCRLA) is pleased to announce the winners for the 8th Annual Upstate Hospitality Awards, celebrating the exceptional professionalism and outstanding service of top individuals in the industry. The Awards Ceremony will be held Monday, November 9 at the Hilton Greenville Hotel. Nominations were accepted from SCRLA members in the Upstate, including Anderson, Greenville, Pickens and Spartanburg Counties. The winners include: •

Restaurant Front of the House Employee of the Year: Acadia Kant, CityRange Steakhouse Grill - Spartanburg

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Restaurant Heart of the House Employee of the Year: Sarah Pinkernell, Larkin’s Restaurants

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Restaurant Bartender of the Year: Michael Wade, Rick Erwin’s Clemson

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Restaurant Outstanding Certified Sommelier: Joe Crossan, Table 301

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Restaurant Chef of the Year: Haydn Shaak, Restaurant 17

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Restaurant Manager of the Year: Alberto Vargas, California Dreaming

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Restaurateur of the Year: Nello Gioia, Ristorante Bergamo

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Lodging Front of the House Employee of the Year: AC Clark, Embassy Suites Greenville Golf Resort

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Lodging Heart of the House Employee of the Year: Tara Ganner, Residence Inn by Marriott Greenville

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Lodging Bartender of the Year: Dorothy Kohl, Westin Poinsett Hotel

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Lodging Manager of the Year: David Hicks, Embassy Suites Greenville Golf Resort

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Hotelier of the Year: Andrew Cajka, Spartanburg Marriott

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Hospitality Educator of the Year: Elijah Edwards, Golden Strip Career Center

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Outstanding Community Service Program: Ruthie Smith, Upstate Service Industry United

Thank you to everyone who made this year’s Hospitality Leaders Golf Week, presented by US. Foods, a HUGE success! It was no easy feat hosting four tournaments in one week, but we couldn’t have asked for better weather.

You take care of your community. We help take care of you.

Exclusive members-only pricing on medical, dental, vision, disability, life and critical illness benefits.

scrla.org/page/InsuranceCenter

Thank you to all of our sponsors and golfers; we couldn’t have done it without you. Congratulations to US. Foods, Lizards Thicket, Sysco Carolinas and Table 301 who will compete in the Hospitality Leaders Championship Tournament on November 12 at the Columbia Country Club!

Columbia Mayor presents Keys to the City to Former Owners of Yesterdays Restaurant On October 27, Mayor Steve Benjamin presented the Keys to the City to former Yesterdays Restaurant owners Darrell Barnes, Duncan MacRea and Scotty MacRea during a socially distanced ceremony beside the restaurant building on Santee Street. Yesterday’s has been one of Five Points’ most recognizable and iconic fixtures, helping stabilize the shopping and dining district for 43 years. It was only fitting that the restaurant be recognized for their decades of economic and cultural contributions to Five Points and the City of Columbia. Darrell Barnes, Duncan MacRea and Scotty MacRea opened Yesterdays restaurant in 1976 at the intersection of Devine, Harden and Santee Streets, in a building originally built in 1935 to house Gibson’s Drug Store. In 1981, the three owners held the first Five Points St. Patrick’s Day festival in the restaurant’s parking lot, and over the decades the festival has grown to become one of South Carolina’s most recognized cultural and fundraising events.

WE’VE GOT YOUR BACK. AND FRONT OF HOUSE.

Restaurant

Powerful. Scalable. Feature-rich point of sale.

Award winners have the potential to win a statewide SCRLA Stars of the South Carolina Hospitality Industry Award in January. For more information about the Upstate Hospitality Awards, please visit scrla.org/upstate_ awards.

heartland.us/restaurant

November 2020 • SCRLA.org