SC Venue Crisis

JOIN US for the SC Tort Reform Rally on Tuesday, January 9, 2024 from 10:30am – 12:30pm.

Meet Tribble. He’s the owner of Tribble’s Bar & Grill in Piedmont, SC. His venue’s liability insurance rate increase is the reason our team began a campaign to bring about change to our state’s liability laws.

His liquor liability insurance rate increase was so much that he questioned whether he could afford to pay the monthly bill or if it would better to just close the doors for good.

This is a personal invitation, business owner to business owner. South Carolinian to South Carolinian…

Liability insurance rates have gone up for all of us! It’s hurting our small businesses and it needs to stop. The SC Justice Act can make that happen. We have to let our lawmakers know that we want them to support this act immediately.

Join us on the front steps of the SC State House from 10:30am to 12:30pm on Tuesday, January 9th for the SC Tort Reform Rally. Our economy depends on it.

In April of 2023, Tribble wrote the passionate plea for our Change.org petition. As of December 12, 2023, it’s still true.
We need you to help. Join us at the SC State House on Tuesday, January 9th for the SC Tort Reform Rally.

SMALL MUSIC VENUES AND SMALL BUSSINESS ACROSS THE STATE ARE AT RISK OF CLOSING!

PLEASE READ COMPLETELY AND SHARE.

This is an open letter to our legislature. We speak for not just ourselves but all Small Business community members. In 2017, South Carolina introduced a law, that drastically changed the minimum insurance coverage requirements for establishments that sell and serve alcohol. Bill 116 requires a one-million-dollar yearly policy. This rate increase is excessively high for an across-the-board requirement.

As a result, in 2021, insurance companies began to pull out of South Carolina. The number of available carriers has dropped so severely that we can count the remaining options on one hand. The inability to shop for insurance coverage caused the average insurance prices for bars and venues to rise in 2021. When 2022 hit, we were shocked to see the price quoted, which we had no choice but to pay. What was a $5,000 – $6,000 policy skyrocketed to upwards of $20,000- $25,000. These numbers are based on average prices of venues of the same size. 

This cost came on the heels of the 2020 Covid shutdown and restrictions. Many of us hit rock bottom and went out of business. Others took a hit but built back to where we could stand again. We could finally see the end of the struggle, but then inflation hit in the most brutal way possible. We were all forced to raise prices and cut costs to make our business survive and pay our employees.

This year, small venues and many small businesses have been hit again with these staggering, across-the-board insurance policy prices. Small bars, venues, and restaurants across South Carolina are receiving quotes for policies costing $50,000 and higher! Many business owners in this situation have already started to close or attempt to sell. Unfortunately, selling may not even be an option due to those same insurance costs. We are at risk of losing our small, locally owned venues and bars.

. If our representatives ignore this dire situation, far too many small businesses, not just bars and venues, will fall one after another. The companies that do try to survive will be forced to raise prices again and again resulting in less customer frequency. Many family-owned businesses will collapse completely, giving way to more corporate chains.

In this industry, the fallout will be a trickle-down effect from the venue and bar owners to staff losing their jobs. The employees affected include but are not limited to, bartenders, waitresses, cooks, busboys, sound engineers, door staff, and bouncers. Bands and musicians will lose a long list of places to perform, many of whom play shows in smaller venues as their only source of income. Towns and cities will lose tax revenue and tourism dollars.

What can you do? Spread the word.

Contact the representative in your area. It’s as simple as emailing  Don’t stop with one email. Continue to email them daily until we have this issue resolved.

LINK BELOW TO CONTACT MEMBERS OF THE SENATE:
https://www.scstatehouse.gov/email.php?chamber=B

Save South Carolina’s small businesses.