"Guys like myself who like to go to Five Points and still get up in the mix a little bit, but want to do it from a comfortable distance as well." That's Ryan Ferguson, describing who he wants in the back room of 5 Points Social, the business he opened this August at 632 Harden St. with partner Jeff O'Hara.
He's one of four new arrivals in Five Points since spring. Each moved into a building with a past life, and each is set up for hours or crowds the district hasn't been known for. Taken together, Five Points in 2026 has a lot more going on in the daytime and early evening than it did a year ago.
Four addresses, four past lives
Every one of this year's openings took over a space Columbia already knew by its earlier name.
- 747 Saluda Ave. A Starbucks for 20 years until it closed in 2023. Since April 1, 2026, it's been the first permanent home of Godspeed Coffee.
- 732 Saluda Ave. Pecknel Music for 50 years. It now houses Slip 53, a coastal kitchen and raw bar that's in its soft-opening phase this fall.
- 632 Harden St. Opened in 1939 as the Five Points Theatre, which explains the marquee. Later it was the college bar Cotton Gin, then the rock club New Brookland Tavern. Since August it's 5 Points Social.
- 616 Harden St. The former H&R Block space next to Bar None. Since Sept. 5, Qahwah Palace Coffee House, which serves Yemeni coffee.
Two of the four are coffee shops, and the other two both plan to serve food before late night.
The clock starts earlier now
Godspeed made its name with pop-ups, including one at the Boyd Innovation Center in Five Points, before owners Roger Caughman and Kailey Cunningham signed on at 747 Saluda. It opened on a Wednesday morning. When The State stopped by that lunchtime, every table was full and the line spilled out of the building. The menu has coffee, teas, lattes and sodas, plus signature drinks like the Neapolitan: espresso, chocolate, strawberry milk and a vanilla bean cream top, finished with a piece of waffle cone.
Qahwah Palace fills the afternoon. During its soft opening it's open 2 to 9 p.m. daily, according to its Google listing as reported by The State, so check the hours before you go, since soft-opening schedules tend to change. The menu centers on traditional Yemeni drinks like Qishr, Mufawar and Mazaj Adni tea, plus newer ones like a pistachio latte. Owner Idriss Saleh, who is originally from Yemen, told Carolina TV that the shop is a way to share Yemeni culture with the community. It's the company's second South Carolina shop, after the one on North Main Street in Greenville. Its Instagram lists Clemson and Charleston as "coming soon."
There's a reason a second coffee shop would pick Harden Street. About 24,000 cars a day pass that block, according to state Department of Transportation traffic data cited by The State. Godspeed sits on the Saluda Avenue side and Qahwah Palace on Harden, so you can walk between them in a few minutes, and between them coffee runs from morning into the evening.
Three floors, three crowds at 632 Harden
5 Points Social is the clearest example of a business planning for more than one crowd. The city held the ribbon cutting on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, and the grand opening followed on Aug. 15.
Ferguson told Free Times the building's structure is mostly the same, with a "heavy facelift": garnet walls, new ceiling tiles, updated bathrooms and enough TVs that you can see a screen from most of the bottom and middle floors. Each of the three levels has its own job:
- Station 90, downstairs, is what Ferguson calls a "Buffalo Wild Wings type vibe," with lots of tables, arcade games and plenty of TVs.
- The Marquee Lounge, in the back room between levels, is the more upscale bar he's aiming at an older crowd.
- Upstairs stays a live music and entertainment space, as it was for several of the building's earlier lives.
"We wanted to build a sports bar that would have a family-friendly vibe to it as well. That's why we have arcade machines," Ferguson said. He also said they plan to open for lunch, for NFL Sundays and seven days a week.
A theater that became a college bar and then a rock club now has arcade machines and a lunch plan. That's the same move the district is making, all in one building.
Walk-ins welcome at the old Pecknel Music building
Slip 53 comes from The Foundry Group, the SC hospitality company whose restaurants include Saluda's, its fine-dining spot in Five Points. Steve Cook, the group's executive vice president and a longtime Columbia restaurateur, developed the concept with Casey Peissel, who owns Backstreets Grill. The two had been talking about the idea for several years. The restaurant was first announced in December 2025 and sits a short walk from the Five Points fountain.
During the soft opening it's open 4 to 10 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, according to its Google listing as reported by The State. The menu covers raw oysters, peel-and-eat shrimp, shrimp po' boys, clam chowder, pan-seared salmon and lobster ravioli, along with cocktails, beer and wine.
You can reserve on Resy, but Cook was clear that you don't have to. "We will never be reservation-only," he told The State. "Even if online reservations are booked, we hold space for walk-ins." With a 4 p.m. start and seats held for walk-ins, you can decide on dinner at the last minute on a weeknight.
What's still in progress
Not every space has filled. Arroyo Tacos + Tequila at 819 Harden St. closed for good. Cook, who is also tied to that space, confirmed the closure to The State in March 2026. NY Deli & Co. is planned for that address. A June 2026 report said it was aiming for late summer with no exact date. As of early October, its own site still says "Coming Soon" and "Opening Late Summer 2026." For now, it isn't open.
The biggest proposal in the district is further out. On Feb. 5, 2026, the city's Board of Zoning Appeals voted 5–0 to approve a height variance for a proposed hotel and parking garage at 705 Saluda Ave. The application described 305 parking spaces, with 150 to 250 open to the public depending on how full the hotel is. In a Jan. 29, 2026 report, The State said the 8-story project's developers hoped to start construction "sometime next year." Parking is unchanged this fall.
The street itself was scheduled for work this summer. In a June 18 notice, SCDOT said crews would install traffic barriers along the 600 block of Harden Street, between Blossom and Devine, with lane closures scheduled from late June into July. That's the same block as Qahwah Palace and 5 Points Social.
The rest of the fall calendar
The Five Points Association's fall events also run in the afternoon and early evening:
- JerryFest, Oct. 4, noon to 8 p.m. A free festival with Loose Lucy's, featuring music from Stillhouse, TenMileRide, WOLPH and Frankly Scarlet, plus artisan vendors.
- Five Points Trick-Or-Treat, Oct. 25, 4 to 6 p.m. Candy and activities at merchants around the district.
- NEON Joy, Nov. 20, 6 to 9 p.m. A free holiday event with a laser show at 6:30 p.m. at the Five Points Mural Lot, holiday activities and longer store hours.
Trick-Or-Treat ends at 6 p.m., before Slip 53 has been open two hours. NEON Joy's laser show starts at 6:30, while Qahwah Palace is still pouring coffee.
If you're curious what this run of reused buildings means for homes near Five Points, or anywhere else in Columbia, Half Moon Realty is happy to talk it through with you over a coffee from one of these new shops. Contact Us whenever you're ready.
