Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

According to KEYT, the parent company of Fallas (and of Anna's Linens) went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August of 2018, with store closings starting on 9 August:

The National Stores, Inc says that they have also suffered financial setbacks from certain underperforming stores and that this has been exacerbated by severe weather in various regions, such as Hurrican Maria which resulted in prolonged, temporary closures to damaged stores and loss of revenue. The Company says they also suffered further financial losses resulting from the acquisition of Conway Stores. The strain on liquidity was worsened by the aftermath of the Company's data breach as access to operating funds diminished.

Apparently that didn't help much, and this store, which survived the initial wave of closings was put on a new list of closings starting 12 October 2018:

National Stores will begin a store closing sale at 184 of its remaining locations today. The store closing sales are being conducted by a joint venture consisting of Hilco Merchant Resources, Gordon Brothers and SB360 Capital Partners. The specific stores that will be closing are currently branded as Fallas and Factory 2-U stores across 12 states and Puerto Rico. The store closing process is the result of the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy filing by National Stores, Inc. and certain of its affiliates. As part of the restructuring, management at the retail chain has conducted a store rationalization process resulting in the shutdown of these specific stores.

Aside from this store, the South Carolina stores affected are Factory 2U stores in Spartanburg and Sumter.

This is the second time East Forest Plaza has been hit, as the Anna's Linens here closed due to bankruptcy in 2015. It's not clear to me if Anna's was owned by The National Stores at the time, but I don't think so. If that be the case, picking up the defunct chain can't have helped the new owners any..

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)

According to The State Delany's which has been open for almost 20 years will be closing on Friday 30 November 2018.

Delaney's Speakeasy, a jazz club down the street, was once under the same ownership as Delaney's. It was sold first, and then Delaney's itself was sold last year (it's not clear from the story, but I'm guessing not to the same party that bought Speakeasy).

In theory I have Irish roots, but in practice I've never been a pub goer, and never took the opportunity to visit Delaney's. From these pictures (taken several years ago), it looks like it would be a pleasant al-fresco experience in the spring or fall.

(Hat tip to commenter Tom)

It's been a awful week or so for taking pictures, but at least it wasn't actively pouring this afternoon.

Consumers Feed & Seed Store in Lexington just announced their upcoming closing after 61 years in business, which is certainly a good run. Looking at the Facebook page, it strikes me as the kind of place my mother used to visit in the 60s for bird seed and gardening necessities. I don't have any inclinations in either direction, but it's sad to watch an era pass as everything goes to Lowes & Home Depot.

(Hat tip to commenter ED)

Well this one is a shame. Pizzera Opa was the new name for Zorba's Express which was here in the Publix plaza for many years, and was the follow-on restaurant for the crew from The Parthenon in Five Points. The Parthenon was my favorite pizza in town, and when I was living in Aiken, I would come back to Columbia on weekends and take my father to The Parthenon Saturnday evenings.

When I discovered Zorba's Express, the pizza was just as good as ever, and the manager, who remembered me from the Five Points days, would always come out and say hi. Unfortunately, the new location was just too far out for me to visit more than a handful of times; I wish it would have been more, and I wish them well.

(Hat tip to commenter IrmoJeff)

UPDATE 30 September 2021: To be Puerto Rican restaurant A Fuego:

UPDATE 15 March 2022: Updating tags.

UPDATE 20 November 2023: Fix typo.

I noticed this vacant house/office on Sunset a few months ago. It seems that Chandler Chiropractic moved from this location sometime after April of this year to their new office at 3681-D Leaphart Road.

This building was obviously a ranch style residence when it was built, and was on a nice little plot of land. Of course that was probably when US-378 was a sleepy two lane road, and I don't see a family moving back here any time soon. The building is for sale, so we will see what happens next.

UPDATE 17 June 2025 -- Now Luckie's Pinestraw:

I noticed this empty building on Pineview a few weeks back. It turns out to have been Merritt Veterinary Supplies which was a Columbia based company:

Merritt is headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina, and was founded in 1938 by veterinarian Dr. Lloyd Merritt and his wife. Merritt has about 150 employees and offers a comprehensive line of products, including pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, and equipment, some on an exclusive basis.

Merritt was bought last year by Henry Schein with the purchase finalizing in October 2017. I'm guessing the local office closed not long after that. Currently the building is vacant, but has been sold, so perhaps something else will be coming in soon.

There's not much to say about this closing except that the process of branch pruning at banks is continuing apace.

As a Bank of America customer I have used this ATM a number of times to avoid fees, but have never been in the branch itself. For now, the ATM will remain.

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)

UPDATE 28 February 2022 -- Now A-1 Transport which seems to be at least partly an ambulance company:

I was driving down the Old Bush River Road section of Bush River Road the other weekend, coming from Lexington into Irmo, and I noticed that Century Glass has moved their Bush River location to the other river road at 4059 Broad River Road. I believe they may still be using this building for non-customer space though as it is still listed in the phonebook, and Google Street View from March 2017 shows the moving sign already up.

I think my dermatologist would prefer I dig a tunnel to the mailbox and not come out into the sunlight at all, so I have never really understood the allure of tanning studios, but there are still a number of them around. This one is next to the former Springleaf Financial Serveices at Garners Ferry Crossing, and you can see it in operation in the first picture above. They listed in the Feb 2016 phonebook, but not more recently, so I'm guessing this storefront has now been vacant for at at least two years. (And the same plaza Hibachi Grill P&G Buffet has now been vacant over five years.)

Here is another of Harbison Boulevard's Mattress Firm stores. It looks like they already have a new tenant, Rainbow, lined up, though I have no idea what that is.

I confess I have very little reason to go to Harbison Court anymore with both Barnes & Noble and Chili's being gone though I guess I did eat at Olive Garden once last year.

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)