The Elgin VFW post on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, during its three week shutdown when members were unable to find affordable liquor liability insurance. (Abraham Kenmore/SC Daily Gazette)
COLUMBIA — Bar and restaurant owners across South Carolina are telling legislators they may be forced to close due to the skyrocketing cost of insurance the state requires to serve alcohol.
The rising cost and shrinking availability of this insurance — known as liquor liability insurance — has hit establishments of all sizes, from major restaurants to nonprofit Veterans of Foreign Wars posts. And the state Legislature is trying to find a solution.
The VFW post in Elgin closed for three weeks as its leaders scrambled to find affordable insurance before re-opening Monday, according to Post Commander Christine Rogers.
The closure not only stopped member activities. It hampered the food drive they were in the middle of working on for a nonprofit in their tiny town northeast of Columbia.
“By closing, we were not able to collect very much food,” she told the SC Daily Gazette.