Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

This men's clothing store has moved up Two Notch several blocks East, from this strip across from Columbia Mall to a storefront next to Nick's. As far as I can tell, the move came around June of 2021.

As far as I can tell, Hannah Beauty Supply was open into 2021. I don't know if there was a change of ownership in the property, but the adjacent Forest Drive Market closed somewhere in the same timeframe.

At any rate, the place is now setting up to be a Kim's Beauty Supply, so perhaps it was just a matter of Kim's buying them out.

I don't really have any information on this Decker Boulevard hair salon other than it seems to have been open into the spring of 2021 and got generally good reviews. I thought I might have noted previous business in this storefront, but that appears not to be the case, although several in this strip mall have featured here.

For those of us of a certain age, this building is best know as the home of Continental Sound: That building that looks like a car radio with the "Sounds Real Good!" girl...

Since then it has been a number of things, with this most recent incarnation being an auto repair shop.

Given the street address on the county notice, and the specified size of the lot, I'm not sure if perhaps this property doesn't include the adjacent, defunct, nightclub as well.

Driving on Laurel Street recently, I noticed that something is going on at the public housing development of Allen Benedict Court. I recalled that there had been a fatal gas leak there in 2019, but had missed the follow-up that all the residents had been moved out and the place scheduled for demolition this month.

The development, in the square bounded by Harden Street, Read Street, Oak Street & Laurel Street, was built in 1940 and in those Jim Crow days was the Black counterpart to the Whites only Gonzales Gardens, which was itself recently demolished.

This State article has some reflections on the history of the complex, which went from a safe place to raise kids in the beginning to problematic in recent years. According to WLTX final enviromental testing before demolition has begun.

I'm guessing this building was at one time a "country store" type place that made the switchover to "convenience store". As near as I can tell from google reviews, it was Food Mart & Grocery as recently as three years ago, and the roadside sign suggests it reopened as Secret's sometime after that, though the length of the grass suggests that incarnation didn't last too long.

This legacy motel on US-601 at the Sumter Highway interchange has been here many years, and had a certain amount of fame as the Coronet Motel, which was the home of the The Circus Room -- A nightclub in an old circus bigtop tent.

In more recent years it has been a generic family run motel with a convenience store added in the office to bring in a bit more business (which has been in decline ever since Interstates became a thing). The only time I ever stopped was for a much needed comfort break on my way to the beach. I had previously been to the gas station on the other side of the intersection, and had been well less than impressed. In the event I probably should have take that option again. It turned out that the bathroom was unisex, and despite the fact that it had a perfectly good door lock, the exceedingly large woman on the pot when I opened the door had not engaged it. It was an encounter which I don't think did either of us much good..

I noticed a year or so ago that the place had finally given up the ghost and took these pictures a few months ago. Unfortunately many were taken against the sun, but since I doubt I will ever get by there in the morning, so it is what it is.

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Sally Beauty Supply in Fashion Place on Decker has closed. One google review of the place suggested that it was moving to "Garner", which I would take to be Garners Ferry, but I did not see any sign on the door, nor any listing on the company website

However, I do note that the Two Notch location at Sparkleberry Square is still in business.

(Hat tip to commenter Sidney)

Apprently this move took place sometime around June of 2020, but I never noticed it until quite recently. Rice Music House moved from their old Devine Street location to near the traffic circle at Sandhill in 2012, and have now moved an additional block or so to 486 Town Center Place, Suite 1.

As you can see above, as of yet there is nothing in the storefront they vacated.

This old-school hardware store on Broad River Road between Bush River & Greystone, has started its final closing sale.

I think it's interesting how this one fairly small strip has three totally different facade styles. I like this one the best; the ziz-zag roof-line puts me in the mind of the 60s.

(Hat tip to commenter Justin)