CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Delayed for nearly two months by water leaks, unexpected repairs and permit problems, Jamie Seabolt finally opened his Fife Street bar and restaurant on Monday. Now, a stench from stagnant water in the basement threatens to close him down again.

"It's been an ongoing battle," Seabolt said Wednesday afternoon, after meetings with Mayor Danny Jones, Building Commissioner Tony Harmon, Building Inspector George Jarrett and the city sanitary board.

"Smell the rotten egg smell?" he asked a pair of visitors. "It's because everything underneath us has been covered with water since June 6."

Seabolt's efforts to open Union Square, a tiny restaurant by day and gay-friendly bar after dark, in a former hot dog stand along Brawley Walkway between Capitol and Summers streets have met obstacles from the start.

Owners of several neighboring buildings tried to block the city zoning board from issuing a permit he needed to serve alcohol. At least one neighbor vowed to fight his state liquor license.

On June 5, about the time he hoped to open his doors, Seabolt says his landlord, Dr. G.A. Ghannam, replaced a vertical drainpipe that runs through his restaurant. The pipe collects rainwater from the roof and channels it down through the building to the basement, where it connects with city drains. Ghannam has owned the three-story building at the corner of Summers and Brawley Walkway, the former home of B&B Loans, since the early 1980s, he said.

"On the sixth, it flooded," Seabolt said. "It rained so hard the next day, water backed up to the roof and came down through every crack and crevice, clear down to my business."

The rainwater collected in the basement and has been there ever since, he said.

Seabolt showed off some of the water damage Wednesday afternoon. "It came down through this electrical box on the ceiling, and swelled and cracked the bar. We had to replace drywall. We had to replace floor tile, and it's still coming up in places because it's wet underneath."

He called the city building department, more than once. Jarrett sent a notice of code violation to Ghannam on July 6, noting the plumbing problems and ordering him to fix the storm drains within 21 days.

"The basement was full of water, about 18 inches, and it was close to an electrical panel," Jarrett said Wednesday.

Harmon said Ghannam called after receiving Jarrett's letter. "They said the roof drain was blocking up, flowing down into the basement. He got it unblocked."

According to Seabolt, the basement has been flooded continuously since June 6. Attempts to reach Ghannam were unsuccessful.

On Wednesday, when the odor problem emerged, Seabolt called city officials once again. They met at the site at 1:45 p.m., Jarrett said.

"The sanitary board was there, trying to put a camera into the drain to see if there's a blockage," Jarrett said. They refused to enter the water-filled basement. "It would have been foolhardy. The stench in there, and in the restaurant, it's unbearable."

Harmon said he talked to someone from Ghannam's office Wednesday afternoon who told him workers were at the site around 1 p.m. "They said they got a new sump pump, but they couldn't get in the water until they got hip waders.

"After they get it drained and cleaned up, I told his secretary to contact the sanitary board to locate the problem, and get the problem corrected," Harmon said.

In the meantime, Seabolt worries the county Health Department could shut him down. And then there's the matter of rent.

"He [the landlord] won't fix the problems that kept me from getting my permits and opening my business, but he's hitting me up for rent."

He praised Mayor Jones and other city officials, saying they've been helpful all along.

Jones said he's spoken to Seabolt several times. "He's jumped through all the hoops. He ought to be allowed to open. Dr. Ghannam ought to fix what's wrong with this place."

Reach Jim Balow at ba...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5102.