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ANDERSON — Alcohol is being blamed for a dispute at an Anderson restaurant that has left the owner looking for a buyer and two servers looking for jobs.
Monday, Keith Claramunt, 36, owner of the Townhouse Restaurant, told Anderson Municipal Court Judge Hugh Welborn that he was trying to sell the restaurant at 125 N. Main St., primarily due to an alcohol counselor's recommendation.
According to Friday's incident report, Anderson police were called to the restaurant two times, once for a fight at 8 p.m. that led to a confrontation with a cursing, yelling and intoxicated Claramunt.
“I could hear the offender using loud profane language through the door,” Officer Warren Smith said in his report. “Offender was around 80 feet from the door and there were several people outside eating in front of the restaurant.”
Police arrested Claramunt.
At 9 p.m., officers returning, finding server Russell Ketzler, 44, of Pelzer passed out in the doorway to the restaurant, the report states.
Before the initial arrival of police, Claramunt was in the kitchen cooking, and two servers were helping customers, according to testimony in city court.
“Two of them were stealing liquor,” Clarmaunt said. “I fired them. One would not leave.”
Only Claramunt and Ketzler were charged with public disorderly conduct.
Monday, Ketzler pleaded guilty. After a brief trial, Welborn found Claramunt guilty. Welborn ordered both men to each pay a fine of $257.50 or serve 20 days in jail.
Officers testified that both men were extremely intoxicated while working at the restaurant. An unresponsive Ketzler had to be carried to the police car and then carried into the jail, Officer David Fikes testified. An agitated Claramunt was Tased and restrained in a chair at the jail, according to testimony by Officer Daniel Bannister and the incident report.
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Anderson's FINEST
in response to The_Shark
If not Preston, could have been Bush's fault.
no cover charge....live entertainment.
I may have to move downtown just to enjoy the "ambience"!
Nothing ups the market value like a little Drunk and Disorderly to hang next to the For Sale sign.
The poor guy was tasered, too? Not a good day.
remind me not too eat there
Cool place and location. Mediocre food and poorly run. What a shame. Must have been a result of an even HIGHER sales tax proposed for City restaurants! You CAN blame this on Joey World!! Hah.
Okay, this 36 year old downtown bar owner gets in a fight, raised heck enough to get tazed and tied to a chair and he got a $257.50 fine. The 63 year old, one eyed man in the other article gets his butt kicked by SWAT and charged with selling beer without a license and got a $1087.50 fine. I guess it pays to be white and know somebody.
Townhouse was doomed anyway, you can't run a business if you're running out back to sit in parked cars ten times a night.
in response to The_Shark
not sure if you mean places that have closed or still operating.
Courthouse Cafe
Friends
Meeting Place
Internet Cafe
Lunch Box
Silver Spoon
Don't forget Pop's Fun Ceter--(way back)
McArthy's just closed, too. And it was really, really good.
wasn't the meeting place once called Giles' Restaurant ?
Woolworth's had the BEST Patty Melts.
guy:
I think you got most of the ones I can remember.
I forgot all about that Mennonite restaurant. Wasn't it over near Phil's Jewelers?
tryxie:
Yep it was Giles before Meeting Place.
clemson_girl - I thought it was..but I wasn't sure. My Grandpa used to take us ( my sister and I ) there ...lots of great memories of the place
well folks, those good ole days have long since gone by the way of the dinosaurs. all that is left of downtown anderson is a bunch of old runned down buildings and the courthouse of course. it looks like a ghost town down there
I need to get out more! I miss all the excitement.
tryxie:
Giles used to have big hunks of fatback on the buffet. They always gave you so much food, you had enough to take home for a second meal. I haven't been to Meeting Place in years but it was always good.
LOL- how funny that you would mention my grandpa's favorite ! he loved the fatback!! it was always good, I miss it.
The good old Townhouse is also famous for serving alochol to the wild, under age 21 crowd. Anderson Police needs to wake up and take notice of practices bars like this are famous for.
Makes me proud to call South Carolina a part of America. They outta ban alcohol sales south of Virginia and north of Florida.
in response to MassachusettsLiberal
Why ban alcohol sales? Don't forget we Southerners can get our moonshine from our stills we hide in the deep dark woods.
Us Southerners Can Survive !
Where is the "fun" in getting drunk, acting like a fool, puking it up and waking up the next morning with a hangover? If that's "fun", count me out!! As for fools, there are plenty of sober fools that don't even have to use the alcohol. Look around you!!
in response to MassachusettsLiberal
Head on back to Massachusetts then!
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