The recently opened downtown watering hole Groovers aims to revive the spirit of 1990s-era Calhoun Street with its live music and vinyl DJ nights.
It’s a more laid-back counterpart to its sister bar and music hotspot upstairs, Trio, which has been owned and operated by Kate and Eric Gussin since 2018. The couple opened a second Trio location in Charlotte, N.C., in 2023.
The Gussins, who met while bartending at former King Street mainstay Midtown nearly a decade ago, unveiled their new Charleston bar, Groovers, in October, complete with exceptional vintage vibes and craft cocktails named for 90’s hits. Flip through a CD holder to choose from options like the “Hollaback Girl,” which features flavors of coconut and bananas, a la Gwen Stefani, or the “Purple Rain” cocktail named for the Prince song.
“We wanted to bring this space back to its roots,” Kate Gussin told the Charleston City Paper.
Honoring that history was the inspiration not only for the decor, but the name, too, Gussin said. The bar at 139 Calhoun St. was in fact called Groovers once before, back in the ’90s. There’s a wall of photos taken at the old Groovers, where you can see patrons with bleached tips and tight-fitting nylon shirts vibing to tracks on vinyl.
“We’ve got all these posters from DJs that spun here back then, too,” Gussin said. “They would hand draw their posters, go to Kinko’s, get it copied and post them around. We’ve had so many people come in who are like, ‘I haven’t been here since ’96.’
“This was the first real venue where people were having parties with DJs in Charleston. And of course, they were still spinning vinyl then. … Once I started digging into the history, I was like, ‘Okay, this is the coolest concept. Let’s dig our heels into that.’”
Before it was Groovers in the ’90s, the spot went through other iterations of entertainment and live music venues: The Reef Club in the ’60s eventually became a strip club called the Copa Lounge in the ’80s. At another point, it was a live music venue called Hound Dogs. After the original Groovers era, it became the first floor of Trio Nightclub in 2001, which it remained until now.
Step into Groovers today, and it’s a gorgeous space for ages 23 and up to enjoy laid-back vibes on most nights, with DJs spinning from an extensive vinyl collection, also displayed behind the bar. The Gussins collected most of those records from Flip-Thru Records, a DJ and vinyl seller who performs at Groovers each Thursday night. Plus, there’s live music on other nights, including a Friday night residency from The Midnight City (a four-time winner of City Paper’s Best of Award for Best Cover Band).
“Being 23 and up definitely makes it more approachable for friends in my age group, I think,” Gussin said. “For me and my friends, who are in our thirties, they have somewhere to sit. They have a higher quality of cocktail. It’s an all-around elevated experience, without feeling stuffy.”
Friday nights offer live music, while Saturdays and Sundays alternate between vinyl earlier and then more upbeat tracks at night, Gussin said. “It’s a little something for everyone.”
Gussin said Groovers is open to hearing from local acts who’d like to perform, and that she’s hoping to do more fun events like the recent “Pitch-a-friend” mixer they hosted on Nov. 21, where guests “pitched” their single friends with three-to-five-minute presentations.
For the holiday season, expect “disco Christmas decor” and specialty cocktails. “We also have espresso martinis on tap, and a $4 Groovy beer,” Gussin added. “It’s probably going to be the cheapest draft beer you can get Downtown now.”
Whether you’re a cocktail enthusiast or a music lover, check out the upcoming schedule at grooverschs.com or follow on Instagram @grooverschs.
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