[ ABOVE: Photo from TripAdvisor ]
The restaurant and bar 21 East in downtown Greenville has closed indefinitely, but the reason why remains unclear.
Jerry Ng, who owns the building at 21 E. Washington St., opened the restaurant in 2012 and later sold it to Chris Stake.
However, Ng told UBJ he has taken back control of the business but doesn’t know if he will reopen it. He wouldn’t disclose why he resumed control other than to say “the agreement changed.” When pressed for details, Ng said, “That’s between A and B, and you guys are C.”
Ng said he has no plans to sell the building at this point.
According to a police incident report obtained by UBJ, officers from the Greenville Police and SLED began an investigation on 21 East on Jan. 11 after receiving a tip that the bar was in violation of South Carolina alcohol laws.
Stake was found to be in violation of happy hour laws for selling discounted liquor outside the hours of 4 to 8 p.m. and also selling liquor on a Sunday without a valid local option permit.
Samantha Skeeter, a representative from the S.C. Department of Revenue, said 21 East no longer holds a valid alcohol beverage license. She said the restaurant did have a 120-day temporary beverage license, but that has expired.
Stake could not be reached for comment.
Still open is the late-night weekend taco window, Ventana Mágica, which operates out of the same building, but owner Will Smith said he did not want to comment on why 21 East closed.
