After 16 years, Upper Deck Tavern will close at the end of the month

Beloved dive Upper Deck Tavern will close for good at the end of this month.

Owner Ken Newman has confirmed that his bar lost its lease and will shutter in a matter of days. Newman wouldn’t elaborate on the details of the lease, but did say, “I’ve been on King Street since Feb. 1 1993 with the Horse and Cart Cafe and then with Upper Deck Tavern with that 13 years.”

In that time, Newman has seen the evolution of King Street’s main thoroughfare and watched years of bar patrons come and go from his doors. His lovably gritty spot often served as a sanctuary for Charleston’s odd, avant garde, and nonconformist crowd — so much so, Charleston Poet laureate wrote a poem about it (watch video below). The tiny upstairs space served as a gathering place as much as a watering hole and was beloved for it’s Karaoke nights.

Newman plans to share more of his thoughts on the closure with CP later today.
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