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It is not uncommon for reality stars to launch some kind of business venture as soon as they rise to fame, but for ‘Southern Charm’s’ J.D. Madison, business is completely separate from his work in front of the cameras. Before appearing on ‘Southern Charm,’ Madison started a hospitality real estate company in Charleston, South Carolina, and later created Gentry Bourbon to go along with his Gentry Hotel and Gentry Bar and Lounge. But can you still buy Madison’s Gentry Bourbon in 2019?
Published on July 27, 2019
3 min readIt is not uncommon for reality stars to launch some kind of business venture as soon as they rise to fame, but for Southern Charm’s J.D. Madison, business is completely separate from his work in front of the cameras. Before appearing on Southern Charm, Madison started a hospitality real estate company in Charleston, South Carolina, and later created Gentry Bourbon to go along with his Gentry Hotel and Gentry Bar and Lounge. But can you still buy Madison’s Gentry Bourbon in 2019?
A look at J.D. Madison’s Gentry brand
While the majority of his wealth comes from his real estate company, the Madison Element Hospitality Group, Madison has built a large fortune from his Gentry brand. The Southern Charm star launched Gentry Bourbon in 2013 and later paired it with Gentry Bar and Lounge and Gentry Hotel. Madison used to have a business called Gentry Bar & Room that has since closed its doors.
Madison is also involved with several real estate projects in Charleston, including The Society House II, The Society House Luxury Suites, and Sermet’s Downtown.
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According to Romper, Madison’s various business ventures have made him worth approximately $25 million. This makes Madison one of the most successful cast members on Southern Charm, as far as the business world is concerned anyway.
Several Southern Charm stars have dipped their toes in the real estate game, but none have been as successful as Madison. Although Madison has made a lot of money, his business record was permanently blemished after he was sued for failing to pay rent on the Gentry Bar & Room.
Despite all of the restaurant and hotel drama, Gentry Bourbon still is available online.
Madison faces a hefty lawsuit
In 2017, Madison was forced to close Gentry Bar & Room because he failed to pay rent for several months and was evicted by the landlord. The owner of the building sued Madison after the bar was closed for a whopping $163,233. Prior to the lawsuit, Madison had allegedly agreed to pay the landlord $144,844 in rent dues. The owner took Madison to court a month after he failed to pay him anything.
In light of the rent fiasco, Madison claimed that it was more of a matter of logistics than anything else. The Southern Charm star says that he secured a financial investor to keep the bar open but Hurricane Irma forced the financer to back out of the deal. That left Madison without a plan to pay rent as he expected the financial backer to take over ownership of the bar.
Madison also claims that he tried to relocate the bar to a better location but that plan never came to fruition. It is unclear if you can still buy Madison’s Gentry Bourbon at the Gentry Bar and Lounge, but his brand is the least of his worries at the moment.
Madison faces family troubles
Going into Season 5 of Southern Charm, Madison had a very good reputation and was considered a devoted husband and father. But his perfect family life fell to pieces when Madison and his wife, Elizabeth Madison, announced their separation.
Most of the female cast members of Southern Charm sided with Elizabeth in the split, with several labeling Madison Charleston’s biggest con artist. Naomie Olindo got particularly angry over the breakup and confronted Madison during a birthday party for Shep Rose. In response to what happened on the show, Elizabeth took to social media and condemned the attacks on Madison, calling them unnecessary.
Madison has kept silent on the drama surrounding his personal and business lives. He has also been accused of sexual assault like his buddy T-Rav.
Although he is well recognized for being on the show, Madison was never an official cast member on Southern Charm. He was first introduced as Thomas Ravenel’s friend and later became pals with several other cast members. Madison also helped Ravenel run for Senate a few years ago.
Ravenel, of course, was booted from Southern Charm last season in light of his sexual assault scandal. It is unclear how much Madison will be involved in the show moving forward.
New episodes of Southern Charm air Wednesday nights on Bravo.
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