Up Your Alley Chophouse wants to stand by those who voiced their opposition to the City of Aiken's 1 percent hospitality tax by throwing its own "penny party."
Dr. Philip Jordan, one of the owners of Up Your Alley Chophouse in Aiken's downtown, said the restaurant will hold the party from 5 to around 10 p.m. Monday, the same day the hospitality tax goes into effect. The restaurant will offer penny appetizers, live music and other specials.
The restaurant also plans to discount each person's bill by 1 percent, and instead, the restaurant will absorb the hospitality tax.
"Of course, we're still going to be paying the City every month, but we wanted to let our customers know that we're on their side," Jordan said.
City Council adopted the hospitality tax earlier this month in a 4-to-2 vote. The tax is set at 1 percent and is a tax on the gross proceeds from the sale of prepared meals, food and beverages in the city. That includes meals and beverages prepared in grocery stores, nursing homes, delis, bakeries, gas stations and hotels.
The tax will apply to any establishment that already collects a South Carolina sales tax on prepared food or beverages, and will also apply to businesses with an ABC beverage license for serving alcoholic beverages.
A business that only does an "occasional" event inside City limits will have an option of paying a one-time tax, according to City officials.
Affected businesses inside City limits that serve prepared meals and beverages are expected to turn in their month's worth of collected funds to the City's Finance Department by the 20th of each month.
City officials said they estimate the tax will bring at least $1.2 million per year into the City, and the use of the collected funds will be divided four ways - $600,000 for business-related investments, $160,000 for business license relief, $110,000 for business vitality and $330,000 for enterprise capital reserves.
Nathan Campbell, the City's business license manager, said it's important businesses have their systems ready by June 1 to start collecting the tax; a penalty of 5 percent will be added per month after each collection date.
For more information about the hospitality tax, call 803-642-7642, email licenses@cityofaikensc.gov, or view the City's video at www.youtube.com/user/CityofAikenSC.
Maayan Schechter is the local government reporter with Aiken Standard. An Atlanta native, she has a mass communications-journalism degree with the University of North Carolina Asheville. Follow her on Twitter @MaayanSchechter.