NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — Bar Polari, the LGBTQ+ cocktail bar on Reynolds Avenue in North Charleston, plans to start opening its doors in the daytime as a coffee shop.
During the day the space will run as Café Polari, with coffee, tea, sandwiches and salads, plus brighter lighting and Wi-Fi for people who want to work or meet friends.
The owner, who opened the bar in July 2024, said he checked with regulars about what the community needed from the space, and most wanted an inclusive place to gather during the day that does not revolve around drinking.
The café will be open to all ages. In the evening it switches back to the bar, where customers must be 21 or older. The bar opens at 4 p.m. and stays open as late as 2 a.m. on weekends; it closes at midnight on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and at 10 p.m. on Sundays and Mondays.
An espresso machine has been bought, and the food will come out of the existing kitchenette. The owner expects the café to open within a couple of weeks once a few details are settled.
The bar takes its name from Polari, a slang that worked almost like a secret language and that gay people popularized during the 1800s. It describes itself as a hideaway for the LGBTQ+ community in Charleston.
Filed under: Charleston SC Food News
