Old SC jail near Charlotte could become a new speakeasy. Here’s what we know
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- David Martin plans to convert Fort Mill’s old jail into a downtown speakeasy.
- The proposed bar would join a growing cluster of local eateries and breweries.
- Martin aims to open his law office first, with the speakeasy to follow later in 2025.
Plans aren’t locked in yet, but Fort Mill’s former jail could become the town’s first speakeasy.
David Martin is an attorney and state representative who bought the former jail on Confederate and Academy streets in May for $3.2 million. He confirmed exclusively to the Herald that he’s working to add a new drink spot at the 50-year-old site.
“My plan is to put some type of bar there,” Martin said. “I think Fort Mill really needs a high-end cocktail bar in the downtown area.”
Martin would work with investors on a new, locally-owned concept rather than bringing in an existing bar company. He met with his former employer Jason Cloud, who opened Hobo’s on Main Street a decade ago in a move Martin sees as critical for the restaurant growth that’s occurred downtown since.
Main Street now has Hobo’s, Amor Artis Brewing, The Improper Pig, FM Eatery, Whitaker’s and Phat Burrito. Other spots like The Speckled Pear and The Print Shop are, like the former jail site, just a short walk from Main Street.
A speakeasy downtown could be another step to draw business there, Martin said.
“If we’re going to have all these small businesses, we need to support them and we need to bring in even more opportunities,” Martin said.
Offices coming to former town hall property
The building at 112 Confederate St. became available when the town moved its operations to the former Springs Global headquarters on North White Street this year.
A jail was built on Academy Street in 1936 beside a prior one, and remained there until a larger municipal complex opened at the site in 1975, according to the Fort Mill History Museum. That municipal site included the town police station and jail. The building was renovated in 2003.
The Confederate Street side of the town building had been Town Hall. The top floor had offices for town departments and council chambers for public meetings.
The lower level of the building, with access from Academy Street, was police headquarters. It had offices and a small jail used for minor offenses or temporary detainment until transport was available to Moss Justice Center in York.
Town growth led to municipal offices moving to Tom Hall Street and the police department taking over the entire building, prior to both of those groups moving to North White Street.
Martin bought the 112 Confederate St. site to put his law office in the upstairs area. A 4,200-square-foot space downstairs, the former police offices, are on the market now as office space. That area could be one or two offices, Martin said.
He expects to get into the remodeled building in the first quarter of next year. The speakeasy, covering the half dozen jail cells and the former police lobby surrounding them, would follow the offices.
“That’ll probably be the last thing we’ll do,” Martin said.
There aren’t any detailed drawings yet. The vision, Martin said, is an after-work or after dinner hangout for the growing number of people who live, work or eat downtown.
He’s visited a couple of speakeasy concepts in Belmont, North Carolina. One of them, The Jailhouse, is itself a former jail.
In York County, the first speakeasy in modern times opened in December. Elsie’s at Kounter opened in Rock Hill, building off the popular Kounter restaurant at 135 E. Main St.
