Fifty years ago, the Five Points business district was a thriving center of commerce. Columbians could take in a nine-cent movie, go to Columbia’s first supermarket, or buy a soda from the Gibson’s Drug Store. Five Points was the engine of the city, proof that one need not go to Charleston for a wholesome family outing.
Any current or recent student would be forgiven for chuckling and this image. These days, Five Points is synonymous with bars, sorority girls, and a loose interpretation of the phrase “twenty-one and older.” The district is now just across a set of train tracks from the nearest residential buildings on the University of South Carolina’s campus. Many investors and restaurateurs over the years have seen dollar signs at the thought of stressed college students newly freed from their parents living ten minutes away from a source of alcohol.
At around the same time, the texture of Five Points’ food scene began to change. Alongside iconic Columbia eateries like Groucho’s Deli and Yesterday’s café sprouted more common spots, first a Starbucks and then Waffle House, Cookout, and Salsarita’s. The change was felt in other sectors, too: the strip mall behind Chick-fil-A is dominated by household names such as Food Lion and Petsmart.
Earlier this year, the powerful Five Points Association took a stand. When the restaurant Harper’s closed in 2017, two brothers from Florence swooped in and offered to buy the building and start a Zaxby’s franchise out of it. Columbia’s zoning authority had approved the move, but the F.P.A. moved to let its opposition be known. It lobbied relentlessly for the investors to pull out of the deal, which they eventually did.
The affair highlights the dilemma faced by Five Points businesspeople and proprietors. Many feel the district's culture is being directly undermined by the invasion of corporate restaurants and bars with little concern for drinking laws. But it seems like there is a never-ending line of both looking to cash in on USC’s 35,000 students. With Zaxby’s no longer an option, the owner of the building left vacant by Harper’s might turn to a bar catered to college students.
Still, another problem Five Points has yet to reckon with is crime, or rather, the perception of crime. Five Points is one of the safest areas of Columbia, safer than the Vista and even than U.S.C.’s campus itself. But many students and parents do not feel safe, primarily because there are a number of homeless people living in the area. It is easy to tell someone scared of homeless people to get over it, but the fact stands that people need somewhere to sleep comfortably. A recent incident in which two bystanders were shot in the face and the spine has not eased fears.
Five Points still has a lot of character. Drip Coffee offers an authentic alternative to nearby Starbucks, and even has its own reward program of sorts (ask for the stamp card; ten visits and the eleventh item is free). Pawley’s Front Porch is a great place for students to take advantage of the parents being in town. For greasier fare, Eddie’s Calzones offer a great late-night snack, with enough food for lunch the next day. But the F.P.A.’s unwillingness to allow outsiders to enter the district, coupled with its reluctance to invest in potential business owners, is a recipe for stagnant growth, fewer visitors, and a further deterioration into poverty and irrelevance. The City of Columbia and the Five Points Association can and should do more to address these issues.
