Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

I was actually in this Bojangles earlier this year when I had a hankering for a sausage biscuit, and I was perfectly happy with it. The restaurant is in a decent spot with plenty of drive-by traffic on Two Notch, so I'm not sure what the story here was.

At some point, I hope to get a shot of the whole building in brighter light, but for now this will have to do.

(Hat tip to commenter John)

UPDATE 7 February 2020 -- As mentioned in the comments, this building has been razed and will be rebuilt (still as a Bojangles):

UPDATE 14 May 2020 -- The new building is going up:

UPDATE 18 May 2002 -- Still coming along:

UPDATE 23 February 2024: Updating tags.

It seems to me this nice little building in the little group at the corner of Beltline & Trenholm has been a number of cleaners over the years. I have it in my mind it was an Arnold Palmer's once, and google says it was a Masters fairly recently as well.

UPDATE 5 November 2020 -- This place is now Il Bucato, a takeout Italian joint, where [m]enu items at Il Bucato will include pizza, salads, hot subs and pasta dishes.

The story from ColaDaily is here.

The pictures below were taken during the final stage before opening:

Also adding a map icon..

I don't believe I was ever in Pecknel Music in Five Points, but I was certainly aware that it was there for most of my life.

The State had the story a while before they moved. It was basically a changing market, the lease being up, and certain physical issues:

For instance, the present store’s repair shop is on the second floor, with no elevator.

“You get tired of carrying tubas up the stairs,” Morgan said.

The new location is 930 N Lake Drive in Lexington, which seems to be the Food Lion/Books-A-Million plaza.

And let me refer back to this converstation between commenters Terry & Dennis for some ancient Pecknel Five Points history:

I thought John Futch worked in a music store in 5 Points back around 1970. They had this high powered amp with a huge metal horn mounted on a base with a dolly called The Mother Dude that they kept by the front door. I'm thinking this place was on Harden near the location of the original Backpacker.

Terry

Terry -- wow! I saw the Mother Dude! I heard it in action once in the middle of Five Points and the police showed up immediately. This was at Pecknel's right after they had moved to their current building. For years before that they were across the street where Sid & Nancy's is now.

Dennis

(Hat tip to commenter Matt)

UPDATE 5 April 2020 -- Here are a few pictures I just found of Pecknel from 1 February 2015:

This store closed at the same time as the Parkland Plaza store, but I kept forgetting to get pictures of it until it caught my eye the other night. As of now, six months later, the building is still to be re-purposed. WLTX has the story of the chain's foreclosure.

UPDATE 7 May 2025: Update tags.

I've been in this building at least once, back when it was Doc's Gumbo Grille, but as I view Sushi as Superman views Kryptonite, it never even occurred to me to visit TakoSushi. I see from the various writeups on the closing that they had a Southwest component, which I might have guessed from the Tako, except that sounds very like a Japanese word when spelled that way. While I have not been inside, I have admired the very visible and shiny ventilator for years. I also notice that the Yin/Yang mural is a Blue Sky creation.

According to the Takosushi website and statements to the press, the restaurant considered the building to be unsafe. The State says the owner disputes that, and says that any interior damage would be the tenant's responsibility to fix. Here are two more takes from ColaDaily and WLTX

In a sign of the times, I could not get close enough to the front door to get a good picture of the posted notice (though you can probably read it on the click-through) because there is already someone sleeping in the doorway.

(Hat tip to commenter Beth)

UPDATE 12 November 2020 -- Now Crabby's Cajun:

UPDATE 23 October 2025: Update tags.

Boeshreen is the follow-on operation to Northeast Market & Coffee House in this much restauranted storefront on Decker. I ate there once, and found the food to be good though the layout was a bit confusing, and I couldn't make it a regular stop because there was no fresh-brewed ice tea.

I noticed recently that they have added Sammi's Deli branding to their operation (after also adding a sno-cone setup). It may be time to stop in again.

UPDATE 22 July 2020 -- Here are some better pictures I just ran across:

However, based on a more recent drive-by, I think they may have dropped the Sammi's branding at this point.

I went to Nonnah's several times years ago, hoping for something like Kamanski's in Charleston. In the event, I decided they liked cake way more than I did -- I prefer pie, cheesecake, custard and other non-cake desserts. I guess it's been more than ten years since I was in -- at any rate they were still on the other side of Gervais at the time.

The State has the story, and I particularly like the Behind Our Reporting postscript. Welcome to the club, guys!

(Hat tip to commenters Dustin & Sidney)

UPDATE 24 November 2019: Added commenter Dustin, who I had missed, to the hat tip.

Well, I took my eyes off the old Popeye's location, and missed two closings.

South Carolina Dream Wings was the follow on to Jade Palace which closed in early 2018. South Carolina Dream Wings opened shortly thereafter, and I'm not sure when they closed.

After that, and without ever getting around to changing all the signs, Uncle Ozzy's opened. It was, in a complete change for this spot, a schnitzel operation. The Free Times highlighted it as a Bite Of the Week location, proving once again Yogi Berra's observation that It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future:

The location has had a long and varied history, but Ozzy gives you a good feeling that this could be a place that sticks around for a really long time.

[Update: Uncle Ozzy's closed suddenly after Free Times sampled its Hunterschnitzel on Sept. 12.]

Looking at Uncle Ozzy's Facebook page, it appears that the owners had a falling out.

UPDATE 12 May 2020 Fix the address. There seems to be some confusion, but I think it's 3315 Farrow Road. Certainly what I had (3115 Farrow) was wrong. Also, hope springs eternal. This place is now Noisy Wings:

I'm not sure exactly when this location of Lexington Dry Cleaning, at the corner of Elmwood & Marion, closed, but it was definitely earlier than the Sesqui location, so I'm going to say 2018. As you can see, it has been vacant long enough for a political advocacy organization to move in.

(Hat tip to commenter Justin)

UPDATE 18 November 2019: Changing the closing date from 2018 to 2019 based on the comments.

UPDATE 14 December 2021: Update tags.

To the best of my memory, I ate at this Rush's sometime shortly after it opened, which is the only time I have been in one of their stores. I'm not sure why that is, as it was fine, and I was impressed with the state-fair-like presentation of the fries in a paper cup.

I admit to being a bit surprised at this closing, as I figured with the county takeover of Decker Mall, they would have a steady lunch business of civil servants crossing the parking lot for a bite.

The State says however that it was a 40 year old building that had age and maintenance issues and:

“At some point you just have to let it go.”

The stonework facings are definitely of another era, though not quite as distinctive as the old Popeye's buildings.

This closing makes two vacant restaurant buildings on the Decker Mall property, which seems odd. As I said with the county office workers (and law enforcement) nearby, I don't see why the site couldn't support a new restaurant, though perhaps either building would have to be razed and rebuilt.

(Hat tip to commenter Tom)

UPDATE 18 December 2019: Added the first picture from 2 November 2019, the actual last day of operation.

UPDATE 4 February 2021 -- To be Cod Tail Seafood & Chicken, a Charleston outfit. I really do not like that name!

UPDATE 22 August 2022: Updating tags.