Savory Restaurant
Known Name(s)
Savory Restaurant
Address
Old Winnsboro St. Columbia, SC
Establishment Type(s)
Restaurant
Physical Status
Demolished
Detailed History
Lula Niles opened this restaurant and nightclub in 1942. She ran at least four different businesses in the Columbia area. She gradually bought around 12 acres of property in the area, creating party, convention, and outdoor spaces. Savoy Club attracted guests like Black Fort Jackson soldiers, affluent members of the civil rights community, and Green Book travelers. In 1956 two Fort Jackson soldiers, at the order of a rival nightclub owner, set the building ablaze. The main structure was completely decimated. However, the club was so successful that six months after being burnt to the ground, they were already advertising their next jazz line-up in full page newspaper advertisements. The club operated until it was ordered to close in 1973. One of the remaining structures became the Savoy Liquor Mart, enduring various reincarnations of Savoy Club. The property was eventually sold in 2006 and turned into a liquor store. It was torn down in 2021.
