Roux the Day

Last Thursday wasn’t all that great for Roux’s Catering’s Service’s Robert Williams. Not only did state revenue agents pop him for bringing over six cases of wine from South Carolina, but when they went into his business, they discovered additional alcohol he had on site, which is illegal, too, since Williams doesn’t have an on-premises liquor license.

That’s two strikes with a pretty formidable pitcher on the mound, but the popular caterer, who has been in business 17 years, insists everything is better than it sounds.

“Everyone is trying to perceive this as some big mastermind of me going and bootlegging alcohol from South Carolina and bringing it into Georgia to illegally sell it,” Williams says, “which has really not been my intent by any stretch of the means.”

Though he acknowledges that the booze is cheaper across the river, he says it was convenience more than price that motivated his drive to North Augusta.

“I honestly was not aware that what we were doing was illegal,” he says. “I was just doing it because it was more convenient. I am a licensed caterer. I had professional servers and bartenders that worked beverage packages for us — I just had a misinterpretation on what the letter of the law was. I thought that what we were doing was within the letter of the law, but apparently it wasn’t.”

While the state unravels the tangle of violations, Roux’s remains open. Williams says he’s currently using a licensed beverage service to provide bar service. The state has not closed his business, though they did seize all his alcohol, and he’s not even officially sure of its status.

“I’m not a bar,” he says, emphasizing again that he was not intentionally trying to break any laws. “I don’t set up bars in random places and sell alcohol — to me, that’s a big difference. I didn’t get a storefront on Broad Street and start selling alcohol. I’m a licensed caterer.”You Might Also Like: