After 10 years in Piedmont, Tribble's Bar & Grill, has announced that it will close at the end of August.
The popular dive bar and live music venue on Highway 86 hosts bands, comedians and events such as music bingo and trivia.
Owner Kynn Tribble announced the decision to close the bar in a Facebook post on June 30, citing that while they have faced challenges over the years as a small business, their decision to end operations is a personal one.
"We want to reconnect with each other and spend time with our kids while they're still at home," the post said. "They've grown up in this business and have shared so many incredible memories with us, but we also want to show them that life is about more than just work. We want them to see us making memories as a family outside the walls of Tribble's."
Like many small businesses, changes to South Carolina liquor liability laws put pressure on Tribble's by adding new coverage requirements and regulations. Tribble said that in recent years his insurance rates went from around $3,000 a year to $30,000.
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Tribble has spent the past couple years helping to spearhead the SC Venue Crisis, a group advocating for change in South Carolina liquor liability law. Still, last year Tribble's was almost forced to close because of struggles to afford their liquor liability insurance, but a community fundraiser helped them to stay open.
"That kind of started beating me down a little bit, and it's just continuous risk for everyone else's behavior and our government not willing to do anything," Tribble told the Greenville News.
Now, Tribble's has decided that when their insurance expires on Aug. 29, the bar will close.
Tribble acknowledged that liquor liability insurance impacted the business, but said that he does not want the bar to become a poster child for the current crisis – which the South Carolina Bar and Tavern Association says has forced 325 businesses to close or cease alcohol service.
Tribble said that he hasn't been quoted for insurance this year – and that even if it was free he wouldn't change his mind about closing the doors. After doing this for so long you start to lose yourself, Tribble said.
"This decision is about finding life outside of a bar," Tribble wrote in his post.
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Doc's Tavern, another Upstate music venue, said that Tribble's welcomed them with open arms when they first opened.
“We are sorry to see this chapter end for our friends at Tribble’s," Doc's Tavern owner Anne Baldwin said. "It’s not often that a company that could be viewed as competition would be so kind and helpful to us in the scene. Ten years is a tremendous achievement in a tough business to be in."
Tribble's said that customers can keep an eye out in the coming weeks for announcements about farewell shows, liquidation sales, and the opportunity to own some of the pieces that have hung on Tribble's walls over the years.
Ruth Cronin covers Greenville County business, growth and development. Contact her at [email protected].