Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

Commenter Justin noted a while back this this River Drive conenience store has closed. I was not aware of the place, but it is actually fairly well placed as I cannot think of another one nearby. The next closest would be the one at the top of the hill on the other side of the river I believe.

(Hat tip to commenter Justin)

UPDATE 19 January 2018 -- Here's a bit of a further back view:

UPDATE 28 September 2021 -- The addresses don't completely match,3810 vs 3806, but I'm pretty sure this spot is now a CK Mart:

Also adding map icon for 3810.

Well, another little bit of my childhood gone. After the tear-down of the minature golf place in Litchfield (probably sometime around 1970) this was the next Southernmost minature golf course on the strand, and where we played most often when I was a teen. Somehow at the time, I thought the theme was pre-historic instead of "jungle" and I considered the natives at the right-front part of the course to be cavemen (or women -- there was one statue of a woman who seemed to alternate between topless and fur bikini depending on how recently she had been painted..).

Looking at the size of the lot now that it has been cleared and leveled, it's amazing that a full 18 hole course was there, along with ponds, statues, switchbacks, hills and trees. It's possible I may have some shots of the place in operation that will turn up some day, but in the meantime, you can check out the Facebook Page.

Time to cue up Big Yellow Taxi

Well this has been pretty ventilated in Have Your Say for a while now, but the Bi-Lo at Friarsgate Plaza will be closing soon. Unlike some of the other local Bi-Lo's, this one will apparently not be becoming a Harvey's.

Googling around, I see that a lot of other Bi-Los have closed recently as the chain continues to fare poorly, though I have always been happy enough with the stores whenever I happened to stop in at one.

In this particular case, the venue does not help as Friarsgate Plaza does not seem to be thriving. You can see one indication of such by looking at the plaza marquee, which continues to tout Monterrey, which featured in a closing here six years ago.

(Hat tip to commenter ED)

UPDATE 12 June 2017 -- Still open. Pretty picked over, but still some good staples. Mostly 40%off:

UPDATE 30 September 2021 -- Now a CubeSmart self-storage place:

Also updating tags and adding map icon.

Medical home oxygen supplier Aerocare has moved out of this Sunset Boulevard plaza (which also housed Riveras Mexican) and over into Cayce on State Street south of Knox Abbott. Their new location is the second building in the pictures above.

I haven't driven by in a while, but the Sunset storefront was still empty last time I checked.

Here is the second Smart Choice location to feature here. This is an interesting little strip building of Broad River just downhill from the Bush River Road intersection. For some reason, this storefront seems to have a logo which the one on Two Notch did not.

I looked briefly for the Augusta Road location, but could not find it in the few minutes I was in the area.

(Hat tip to commenter Bart Laber, address from commenter Andrew)

Come to Lake Murray Crossfit and get your drink on. Well not exactly perhaps, but the signage is still there. Commenter John R says that they have moved to the Old Mill.

I think the last time I was at Pastime Pavilion, I had driven all the over from Forest Acres to see "Mad Max" only to find out when I got there that I had read the listings wrong, and what was playing was "Max" a movie about a dog.

(Hat tip to commenter John R)

I did not realize it, but Banana Republic is a sub-brand of The Gap and apparently both are in trouble. Though I have not found any news of a bankruptcy for the firm, they pulled out of the U.K. and have struggled with badly declining sales, leading to a number of store closures:

As consumer shopping habits have moved increasingly online, Banana Republic has struggled to carve out its niche to drive customers through the door. The biggest problem for the brand is its lack of clear, unique identity -- coupled with the rise of fast-fashion competitors like H&M, Zara, and Forever 21, said New York-based retail consultant, Bob Phibbs, CEO of Retail Doctor.

“The reality is no one has figured out who they are,” he said. “Gap is [a] forgettable brand, and that spills over to Banana Republic...they need to cut the number of SKUs, cut the number of employees, and justify why I should pay $90 for a shirt with something compelling and interesting.”

As an added tidbit, while I was googling around for Banana Republic, I came on the news that Gymboree may go Chapter 11 and close 350 stores. Brutal times in retail indeed.

(Hat tip to commenter Em)

I used to eat frozen yogurt from time to time, but have pretty much quit. If I am getting a cold treat, I don't want a "fat free" anything, I want a "fat full" experience. Be that as it may, if froyo is your thing, it's not your thing here anymore.

(BTW, you always hear that the three most important words are 'I love you', but really it's 'Hot Doughnuts Now').

(Hat tip to commenter Mr. Hat)

Apparently I never got around to doing a formal closing, though I did mention it in one of the flood posts, but Sakura Japanese Restaurant has been closed since they lost their storefront behind Coplon's to the great flood of October 2015.

Now it seems that they will be making a comeback in the former location of Fujiya Japanese Restaurant at the foot of Rosewood Drive. The State has the story here.

Here is Sakura in operation at its old location:

and here are a few pictures from not long after the flood:

(Hat tip to commenter Sidney)

I was at Sandhill the other day and noticed that this Regions Bank on the outer perimeter was closed.

I see a google review from four months ago indicating it was already closed then, so I'm putting the date as January 2017 though that may be after the actual date. I've always thought Regions Bank was an odd name. It was especially odd when BOA was still Nations Bank because then it sounded kind of copycat. Now it just seems nonspecific.

UPDATE 26 June 2017 -- As reported in the comments, almost open again as a Navy Federal Credit Union: