Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

The Bojangles at the corner of Elmwood and Park is closed for remodeling.

They have revamped a number of stores over the past few years, just reopening the one on Fort Jackson Boulevard.

The State has the story (to a very limited extent) here.

I thought every now and then that I might stop in here, but I was never in the area at the right time, or at least when I hadn't already decided where to go.

The business has been up for sale for a while, and apparently they have not found a buyer, shutting down about 13 August, judging by comments on their Facebook and this State story.

(Hat tip to commenter JamesR)

Here is another spot which has succumbed to the curse of 3315 Farrow Road. I don't know anything about it other than their Facebook suggests they opened in September of 2024.

This Olympia spot, sharing a building with liquor & convenience stores, announced late last year that they would have to close if they could not sell the operation. In the event, that did not happen, and The State has the story on the actual closing.

This is one of many spots around town I was never really aware of, but they apparently had quite a wide-ranging menu.

(Hat tip to commenter Mr. Hat)

This former Waffle House was vacant for more than ten years before becoming King Smoke & Vape sometime early in 2025. To me it seemed that the Grand Opening sign had barely gone up before the place was closed, but Google reviews suggest it was open several months at least.

This place was apparently also known as Day & Night Minimart. I thought it had been around forever, but the Google reviews suggest it was only since around Summer of 2023.

When I took these pictures, it was setting up to be a restaurant called The Flavor Spot, which may be open by now.

Here's another place I wasn't really aware of. Judging from the name and the decor, they were going for a retro vibe, which can certainly work for a burger place. This storefront is in the Lexington Square enclave which is anchored by Lowes Food.

(Hat tip to commenter JamesR)

I have been in this store a number of times over the years, but what I recall most about is is that on the South side of the lot, there is a very vibrant stand of Wisteria which I took pictures of one year, and which, should I ever find them again, I will post here.

I am generally more of a Walgreens customer, and there is one across the street, which may have played into this closing (the Google reviews suggest other possibilities), but for whatever reason, I always found this store to easier to get into than that one so if I were coming up Saint Andrews Road I might stop in to get toothpaste, or batteries or whatever. The entrance was one of those automatically folding (rather than sliding) doors that I always found a little off-putting, but I suppose it got the job done.

(Hat tip to commenter Cats)

To the best of my memory, I never ate at this Shoney's. Our go-to was always the Two Notch location where I had many a plate of spaghetti and hot-fudge cakes.

The chain struggled after dropping the Big Boy branding, and dug themselves further into a hole with a disasterous side-trip into the hotel business. (Does anyone know if they ever owned any of the nearby Airport Boulevard motels?).

This building is their original 1970s style and has probably been around at least that long. The newer stores such as Manning & Aiken have a completely different look. That store (Aiken) may have actually closed as well, as the Post & Courier story on the closing lists only Myrtle Beach, Sumter, Manning, Hartsville & Florence as the remaining South Carolina locations.

So what next? Mexican, or Asian buffett?

(There seems to be some confusion about exactly when this location closed, but I believe it's a hat tip to commenter george011210.)

This North Pointe Shoppping Center Publix had a car drive through the front windows on Wednesday 6 August 2025. Unlinke Lita's Treats in Irmo, they were able to get the situation under control pretty quickly, and move on after putting up some plywood.

WLTX has the story here. There were two injuries, but apparently neither were serious.

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)