COLUMBIA — A scandal-prone Vista bar popular with college students and its sister business — a nearby vape shop — no longer have active licenses to conduct businesses, a city spokesperson confirmed May 4.
Jay’s Vape and Wellness Center at 621 Gadsden St. has closed, according to a handwritten sign posted over the shop’s front door.
“Closed!!” the sign reads. “Reopen Date Soon!!!”
Photos of the sign were first shared on social media by observers on the afternoon of Friday, May 1. The sign was still up when a reporter drove by on May 4.
The temporary closure was not referenced on the website for the vape store or owner Jay Kalin’s neighboring bar at 902 Gervais St. — which has had its liquor license revoked for a month — as of May 4. The Post and Courier Columbia was unable to reach Kalin for comment on May 4.
Jay’s Vape and Wellness Center sat closed the morning of May 4, 2026.
Jordan Lawrence/Staff
The vape shop, which normally operated 24 hours a day, was still listed as open online. The phone number listed for the shop directed callers straight to voicemail on May 4.
The shop is within walking distance of several USC student housing complexes, Colonial Life Arena and the university’s Greek Village and is popular with college students.
A spokesperson for the city confirmed May 4 that the city does not have any active business licenses for either the vape shop or Jay’s Bar and Grill in the Vista. Both licenses had been active as of March 30. It was not immediately clear when or why the licenses became inactive.
The city’s business licenses issued for 2025 expired on April 30, a spokesperson said.
The bar’s licenses to sell both liquor and beer and wine were listed as having been suspended since April 3, 2026, on the state Department of Revenue’s website on May 4. No active licenses associated with Jay’s Bar and Grill were listed.
A spokesperson for the state agency did not immediately confirm the status of the licenses or provide additional information on why the licenses had been suspended. A spokesperson had described the licenses as being “active and in good standing” on March 30.
A spokesperson for the state agency confirmed the licenses had been suspended but did not provide any additional comment. A spokesperson had described the licenses as being “active and in good standing” on March 30.
Previous legal trouble for Jay’s
Owner Jay Kalin, Jr. was recently indicted by a state grand jury on drug charges, according to a March 26 press release from S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson’s office.
The indictment came after law enforcement seized approximately 30,000 pounds of illegal products from Richland County distributor Dab City Warehouse, LLC, in an operation on Dec. 9, 2025, according to the press release.
Jay’s Vape and Wellness Center sat closed the morning of May 4, 2026.
Jordan Lawrence/Staff
Kalin is charged with possessing some of the same illegal products as Dab City, as well as other products, according to the release.
The Post and Courier Columbia was unable to contact Kalin for comment at the time. Kalin’s attorney did not respond to a request for comment on May 4.
Three days after the state announced Kalin’s indictment, a man and a woman suffered non-fatal gunshot wounds at Jay’s Bar and Grill in the Vista.
The state previously suspended Jay’s Bar and Grill’s alcohol licenses in December 2024, causing the bar to shut down for 10 days and pay over $25,000 in fines.
The bar received dozens of violations for allowing people under 21 to enter and buy alcohol between the time it opened in January 2023 and October 2024, according to attorneys and law enforcement officers who spoke and testified at a court hearing that month.
Jay’s Vape and Wellness Center sat closed the morning of May 4, 2026.
Jordan Lawrence/Staff
Attorneys representing the bar said at that time the problems had been addressed and that the bar had been “a model citizen” since proceedings began in March 2024.
Separate court proceedings regarding allegations from a patron who claimed to be physically assaulted by multiple employees outside the bar in February 2023 are ongoing, according to online court records. Kalin has denied responsibility in court filings.
Another lawsuit against Kalin from a woman alleging he sexually assaulted her at the bar in September 2023 also remains ongoing.
Jay’s Bar and Grill
Provided/Google Maps
Kalin has said the September 2023 encounter was consensual in subsequent court filings and has claimed the allegations have hurt the business of his bar.
Law enforcement officials have characterized Jay’s Bar and Grill as a frequent site of disruption and legal troubles in court and in media reports.
Riley Edenbeck contributed to this report.