Boutique Columbia hotel, bar and attached taco restaurant are open for business
A boutique hotel that is taking over a historic downtown Columbia high-rise is open, and its debut comes complete with tacos.
Columbia hotelier Rick Patel is behind the Marriott Moxy hotel at 1200 Main St., across from the South Carolina State House. The prolific Patel also was behind the Sheraton at 1400 Main St. and owns a smattering of other local hotels.
The hotel opened softly in its 11-story, circa-1913 building the weekend before Christmas and is currently accepting reservations. The ground-floor Bar Moxy is serving customers. Downtown visitors will have to wait on the hotel’s other two promised bar spaces — a rooftop lounge overlooking the State House and a speakeasy-style bar taking over the basement space that was once home to beloved dive bar The Whig.
The hotel’s website says Bar Moxy is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but exact hours aren’t posted. The website does promise that the bar provides “delicious and irresistible cocktails, local brews, savory wines, and yummy munchies” and notes that the dress code is casual.
“The journey continues as we make the final touches on our rooftop bar and prepare for our official grand opening but today we celebrate all the people that put in the hard work to make our vision a reality!” the hotel posted to Instagram.
One other space in the building is filled and open for business, as new local taqueria Loco Taco has moved into a ground-floor restaurant space attached to Bar Moxy. The restaurant, which takes the Gervais Street-facing spot that was previously home to another taqueria in Family Fresh Mex, serves out of a Volkswagen bus that straddles the window separating it from the hotel bar.
The taqueria’s menu includes traditional tacos filled with meats such as chorizo, steak and shrimp along with other Mexican items including a Mexi Hamburger, burritos, tortas, ceviche tostadas and quesabirria, though not all of the menu has come online just yet. The restaurant also serves breakfast, offering a Ham Burrito, Chorizo Burrito, Mexican Eggs and more.
A worker at Loco Taco said the hours are in flux as the restaurant gets up and running, with breakfast starting around 6:30 a.m. and service continuing until around 10 p.m.
