An iconic bar and restaurant on the Columbia dining scene has been sold to new owners.

Rockaway Athletic Club, located at 2719 Rosewood Drive, has been a Columbia staple for more than 40 years. Columbia’s Cason Development Group and Baker Commercial Properties have purchased the building and property, Cason Development Group President Frank Cason confirmed to The State on Wednesday morning.

Cason said the new ownership group finalized the purchase of the property on Tuesday.

“Yes, we did close on (the sale), and we are very excited,” Cason said.

Originally opened in 1982, Rockaway has long been owned by members of Columbia’s Whitlark family. The State has left messages for longtime Rockaway co-owner Forrest Whitlark at the restaurant and at a private phone number.

Among the many quirks of the the bar is that it doesn’t have a sign outside the business.

“Don’t look for a sign, Rockaway has never had one, but we are in plain sight, located at 2719 Rosewood Drive, in an industrial styled brick building with large black shutters,” the Rockaway website says.

The original Rockaway building on Rosewood Drive was destroyed in a raging early morning fire back in March 2002. The tavern was rebuilt and opened again in early 2004.

Rockaway has long been a go-to spot for burgers in the capital city. In a 2021 story, Food & Wine magazine compiled a list of the best burgers in all 50 states, and Rockaway’s pimento cheeseburger was selected for South Carolina.

“Just as there is pimento cheese all over the South, so too are there pimento cheeseburgers, but most can agree that the spiritual home (of the latter at least) is Columbia, South Carolina’s capital city,” the Food & Wine piece noted. “You’ll find a very good example at the fun-loving Rockaway Athletic Club, which is neither athletic nor a club, but rather, an entertaining indoor-outdoor bar and late-night hang.”

Readers of The State also voted Rockaway as one of the top burger places in Columbia in a 2021 poll.

But Rockaway also has, for years, been known as a place to get a drink, with diverse offerings at its main bar, which has been referred to as the South Carolina Liquor Library. Rockaway claims on its website that the bar “hosts one of the largest selections of liquor in the southeast, as well as a robust selection of beer and wine.”

The Rockaway news is the latest shift in a Midlands dining landscape that has seen several closures to long-running, classic restaurants recently.

Al’s Upstairs, a West Columbia Italian restaurant with views over the Congaree River, closed its doors in late December after a 44-year run. Yamato, a Japanese steakhouse that had a presence in Columbia for 49 years, closed the doors of its restaurant at 360 Columbiana Drive. Meanwhile, River Rat Brewery on Shop Road closed in December after 10 years, and Jin Jin, a Chinese restaurant in West Columbia, shuttered in December after 29 years.

This is a breaking story. It will be updated.