Faculty Lounge

When I first heard of the Faculty Lounge I immediately thought of middle school, where the teachers hung out. If this bar was anything like the faculty lounge where my teachers spent their time, I would have changed my career a long time ago! This place is the coolest bar I’ve discovered since moving to Charleston. It has no signage and looks nothing like a bar. Probably the closest thing we have to a speak easy. It has a very artsy vibe and the drinks are very creative. Just show up, ring the door bell and enjoy the perks of being a teacher.

I discovered the Faculty Lounge back when it was a hole in the wall. It had A LOT of history and a really cool story. It needed a little TLC but you loved it for what it was. There were pool tables and pinball machines in the back. The DJ booth had a turntable and a library of actual records. It has since been remodeled, like the neighborhood it occupies. The floor plan has been flipped but I will say that it is comfortable. They have a great $ 5 bourbon happy hour. You get to try fantastic bourbons that other bars don’t care to carry. It is different but it is growing. They have a lot of cool pop up events. Try to get into one and make sure you ask for a membership!

This place is cool. great cocktails and good atmosphere. it a neighborhood so its not as busy as the other trendy places in town, which is great for non-​amutures.

This gets every inch of five stars. Amazing staff, amazing drinks and décor, amazing happy hour. I can’t get enough. It’s definitely out of the way, but worth seeking out. This place can be pretty packed Friday nights, but other than that it is super comfortable and welcoming. Edit: happy hour has changed. There are still great deals but no more $ 5 on their cocktail list. See photo

There really isn’t anywhere quite like this in Charleston. Divey, laid-​back super fun dance party. Not «sceney» as some places with dancing can be. It is definitely in the hood and might be hard to find if you didn’t know where to look… but as Scotty C. said, I didn’t feel unsafe. It’s not like the south side of Chicago or anything.
Dancing, good drafts and Campari. My hubby was with me so with that, I had everything I needed for an awesome Friday night. I did not want to go home.
Not everyone had all they needed though — mad B.O. on the dance floor. Just sayin.

Okay, so it was really weird how I (and my friend) came to Faculty Lounge. I was in town for a family reunion (I’m from California), but wanted to go out at night to hang out with a younger crowd. We were told to head to King Street but after a miserable 45 minutes of looking for parking and another hour and a half walking up and down the street and finding nothing that peeked our interest, we were ready to call it a night.
Randomly, I get a text from my mother (30 years my senior) who said I should try and find a place called Faculty Lounge. She, my aunt, and her cousins used to «jam» there all the time. o_​O We were feeling kind of desperate and decided to look for it.
Long story short, we had a BOMB time! The bartenders were awesome, the people were fun, the DJ was bangin! We had such a great time Friday night, that we came back Saturday two. Some of the same crowd was there so we sort of picked up where we left off the night before. I’m giving this place 5-​stars because my experience was so great. I’m not into a big party scene with over crowded bars and people that don’t like to dance. Faculty Bar is that perfect mix of a hipster and dance bar. I loved it and I’m excited to come back on my next visit.

Would never have found this place if it wasn’t for being invited to an after party. It isn’t in the best part of town but I didn’t feel unsafe in any way. Charleston’s mean streets are not the same as the mean streets of NY, Boston, DC etc…
It’s tough to find disguised as a house on a residential street. There’s no sign, just a spotlight on the #391 on the building. Walk up to the locked door and ring the doorbell. This is a private club which means members only, but you can easily buy a membership for $ 1. This is just a loophole through the local laws about bars having to serve food — which Faculty Lounge does not.
All that being aside, this is a great hipster-​style dive bar with a very friendly and welcoming staff. Set up like a long hallway, the place is larger than expected. At the end of the bar was a DJ spinning and a decent sized dance floor. Then in the back towards the bathrooms… another huge room filled with video games and a pool table.
After chatting up the bartender I got a little history about the place. Apparently it’s been open for over 30 years and used to be a very exclusive club welcoming the likes of a young Michael Jordan as well as Janet Jackson. You may think she’s fibbing but they have an old photo album of optical proof.

Out of the way, random, fun. This a spot you’d never expect to see in Charleston, a even-​more-​hipster-​but-​different Recovery Room. Kind of a dive bar, kind of a frat house (dance party). Really friendly staff on the night I went.
Tried walking home– don’t do it alone.