Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

Mel's (originally mooted to be Mo's) replaced Zesto in this location which closed in December of 2024. They got going in the summer of 2025, and so lasted about a year. I had not stopped since then, but was looking forward to a soft-serve chocolate dip to close out August. In the event, they have been closed several weeks, and a (mysterious) new concept is supposed to debut here in September.

You can read about it in The State, The Post & Courier or on WIS.

I've probably seen this place one time or another, but since I get down this part of Whaley approximately never, I could not have told you it was there. It looks to have been a pretty generic place for college kids to get snacks, beer & gas or pick up an Amazon order. Unfortunately now, it is overrun with feral cats which someone is feeding.

I'm going with August for a date here since that's when I heard about it, but looking inside the place, it could have been closed earlier based on the state of cables in the roof etc. It also appears to me that the power is totally off here, including to the Amazon Lockboxes.

(Hat tip to commenter Midnight Rambler)

UPDATE 29 August 2026: Commenter Badger says this was originally Caper House, so I have added that to the post title. Not sure if that was a chain or a one-off.

This building was built as a McAllister's Deli, and most recently before Chicanas was Allena's Southern Kitchen which closed in 2023. Chicanas apparently moved into the location from somewhere on Spears Creek Church Road, something I did not know until reading the media articles, and set up in 2025, lasting about a year.

None of the stories give the exact cause of closure, but judging from the door sign, they initially had some hopes of continuing. In the event, I had this place on my mental list of restaurants to try, but with closer options during the week and usually hitting other parts of town on the weekends, never got around to it.

Although clearly a lot of the furnishings have been moved, there are still a good few remaining, and there is not yet a for-sale sign on the property, so what will happen next is not clear.

You can read about it in The State, The Post & Courier or at ColaDaily.

(Hat tip to commenter Tom)

I have seen a number of shows at this comedy venue in a decaying old Winn-Dixie building on Decker over they years, and quite enjoyed them. For a while I was on their email list, but that stopped at some point, probably because of an ownership change of which this place has seen several. In particular I recall that the first website for the club became inaccessible some years ago, and you had to note the new site the (then) current owners had set up from the corner sign or something like that. At any rate, it was not a smooth transition. Reviews of the place suggest another ownership change took place sometime in 2024, and the new regime never really found its footing (commenter badger suggests there were reasons for that), with a number of complaints about cancelled shows and charges for food that never made it to tables. It's not entirely clear when the last shows were, but I'm going to guess sometime early in 2025.

Currently the place's web site goes to a very sketchy looking WordPress blog that seems to date to years ago, and the interior seems to be undergoing some sort of demolition.

(Hat tip to commenter anonymous)

I meant to get back and take a better picture than this drive-by, but apparently that's not going to happen.

TakoSushi closed their original downtown location in 2019, and their Forest Acres location in 2025. They returned to downtown in 2022, occuping two suites in the Arcade Mall. Apparently there is still a location in Lexington, though I can't recall ever seeing it.

You can read about it on WIS, in The State or at The Post & Courier.

(Hat tip to commenter Heath)

When I went by this location on 11 July 2026, they still had the World Cup promotional signs up as if the closing caught them by surprise. I don't believe I ever ate here, so I don't have much to say about it, though I will note that the Post & Courier story on the closing namechecks Columbia Closings.

(Hat tip to commenter Tom)

You can also read about in The State.

I was unaware of Chayz Lounge on Meeting Street until commenter Gypsie mentioned that it is closing after nine years. Judging by the webpage, it looks like a very interesting place: A small venue with fine dining and the musicians right in front of the diners.

The WIS story is here, and from that, and looking at the schedule, you still have until late this year to pick up a show.

(Hat tip to commenter Gypsie)

I noticed going down Decker the other day that longtime Korean restaurant O-Bok was gone, and a new place called Sura was operating in the building. As far as I can tell, the new place does not have a web site, but you can get the menu on google.

I would see this place often over the years driving down I-20, but I never knew quite what it was all about. In the event it appears it was a Harley dealership, yes, but also a gathering place for the Harley community with a restaurant and concert space as well as the sales & maintanence floors. I don't see a news article anywhere online, but Google AI says the owner retired and elected to close the place down in February, which agrees in general with what I see on their Facebook page.

Like the adjacent Quaker Stake & Lube property (which is vacant again), it is a bit hard to figure out how to get to this lot. In particular, you cannot head down the frontage road the the Clemson Road exit. You have to take Spears Creek Church Road and then go behind the Starbucks. Anyway, it's a distinctive looking building, and it will be interesting to see what happens to it.

(Hat tip to commenter Gypsie)