Officials target The G Spot nightclub for closure

A judge is being asked to shut down The G Spot nightclub near Longs on S.C. Highway 90 for one year because of alleged nuisance ordinance violations that include several recent shootings.

The15th Circuit Solicitor’s Office filed the action against The G Spot last week citing numerous calls for police, including two separate shootings reported on Nov. 12 and an October shooting that targeted a security officer.

“It’s been a hotspot of activity,” said Solicitor Jimmy Richardson. “It’s one of those things, that we’ve had quite a few problems at The G Spot over the years.”

Police were called to the nightclub at least 28 times since 2006 for alleged criminal activity, and Richardson said complaints and cease-and-desist letters were sent to the owner last year.

Lenora Livingston, who has owned the bar for 20 years, says she is working with the solicitor’s office and is changing the way her establishment does business.

“We want to be safe, that’s what we always wanted it to be,” Livingston said. “We changed everything, and it’s for the best.”

The changes were sparked by the fall shootings, she said, and are intended to attract a new clientele to the establishment.

Patrons must be at least 25 years old, the bar is opening and closing earlier, and the music of choice is blues.

“The crowd is a little bit slower, but that’s what we want,” Livingston said. “We don’t have the same clientele we had before.”

Although the Horry County Council passed new regulations last week giving them the power to pull the business licenses of bars where criminal activity is reported, that was not the route chosen for this case.

“The G-Spot will be handled as a public nuisance complaint and not under our newly revised business license ordinance, and the solicitor is working through the public nuisance process,” said Lisa Bourcier, Horry County spokeswoman.

Asked if the business license will be revoked, she said it was too soon to make that determination.

“Just the complaint has been filed so far, and I’m sure more court orders are to come, working through the public nuisance process,” Bourcier said. “We will just have to wait until we see what the judge decides. Legally, we look at these issues on a case-by-case basis and the public nuisance route was the course of action decided.”

Richardson said a bar is considered a nuisance if one of three rules are violated: selling drugs, repeat calls for police, or if the establishment is a “place of lewd and lascivious conduct.”

Under the nuisance ordinance, the maximum time a bar or restaurant can be shuttered is one year.

This story was originally published January 18, 2017 at 6:20 AM with the headline "Officials target The G Spot nightclub for closure."