Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

This secluded Cayce spot has featured here before (albeit apparent
ly with the wrong street address) and 2108 State carried on with the Lizard Man tradition.

I'll admit this corner is so far off my radar that it never even crossed my mind to stop here when I wasn't in direct visual c
ontact with the place, but apparently it was pretty good. There Facebook page i
s still up for now, and if you should want to buy the building, LoopNet has you covered.

(Hat tip to commenter Brandon Barkley)

UPDATE 12 April 2017 -- As reported, now a Henry's:

I noticed the other day that this ABC storefront next to Solstice on Sparkleberry is now vacant. I had actually pulled
in there because I thought Solstice might be closed, but apparently it is just never open whenever I drive by..

I first wrote about this building on Farrow Road in the closing for the storied Fountain Bleu Club back in 2009, when the first two pictures above were taken.

Riding down that stretch last weekend, I noticed that the Fountain Of Youth Child Development Center (whose name harkened back to the original club) is now also gone. Looking in some phonebooks, I would say it closed in 2012, and the building is now for sale.

I've noticed Traditions Elder Day Care at the corner of Woodrow and Gervais Streets a number of times over the years as I've kept an eye on the little plaza the building is in, but missed the fact that it was recently closed until my sisterer pointed it out to me. The building is now being remodeled into New York Butcher Shoppe

(Hat tip to my sister)

Today's post & pix come from commenter Mr. BO, who says

http://www.relevecafeandcatering.com/

I'm going to miss this one. They served breakfast and lunch. They
specialized in breakfast pastry and eclectic lunches. My favorite was
the Buffalo Chicken Quesadilla. Their burgers were pretty good but they
insisted on using fancy greens for their salads.

It was a Mom & Pop operation (A married couple with perhaps one more
hired help from time to time.) One of their parents took ill so they've
been closed for about a month then decided to pack up to another state
where the parent is located.

Picture # 1 is when they first opened up around a year ago. # 2 is them
closed.

I'll note that Releve's was in the old China Max slot in the food court.

(Hat tip, obviously, to Mr. BO)

The standard-issue closing signs have gone up at Anna's Linens at East Forest Plaza. You know the ones -- we've seen them often enough here..

I'm not sure what the final date for this store will be, but as commenter Andrew noted, the whole chain is in Chapter 11 and liquidating:

“Over-expansion and excess inventory led to increased indebtedness and, ultimately, a default with the debtor’s long-time lender, Union Bank,” according to court documents.

(Hat tip to commenter Sidney)

I have only eaten at any Sonny's once, and this was the one. For some reason, several years ago when we were staying in Fernandina, nothing would do for my niece but that she have some corn on the cob. My memory is a bit hazy, but I think she had been quite kid-finicky in restaurants on the trip and it was a chance to get her to actually eat something if we could find a place. In the event, it seemed that Sonny's was the only game in town for supper corn that evening, and we hied thither. I'm finicky myself so I had the salad bar, which was pretty good, and my niece did get, and eat, her corn, so all was well.

I know I would have noticed if the place, past Sadler Road on the way to the bridge, had been closed during my last trip in October 2014, and Tipadvisor page and pictures suggests the place probably closed in December of that year.

I passed many other Sonny's locations in my most recent Florida trip, so apparently the chain as a whole is doing OK.

Now the chicken you can't get here goes well with the tacos you can't get next door.

(Hat tip to commenter John Barrs)

I remember I was at a conference once in San Diego and a group of us walked into the Gas Light District looking for restaurant that someone had heard of that specialzed in garlic. Well, I like garlic and it was an excellent meal, but I recall thinking it was too bad that Columbia (much less Fayetteville where I was then living) could never support such a place.

I had a similar thought when I read the opening press for Columbia's bacon bistro Sizzle: Can Columbia really support a bacon restaurant?. Unfortunately, the answer appears to be: no, and arrived before I got around to checking it out.

(Hat tip to commenter Matt)

UPDATE 2 December 2015 -- This storefront is already open again, this time as a Southern Belly location:

As you know, I don't wish failure on anyone, and certainly the crew at this Cross Hill Market burger joint seemed nice enough and I'm sorry for their jobs, but to be frank, I couldn't figure out how they lasted as long as they did.

I ate here twice, probably about a year apart, the last time in April or May of this year. When I had decided to go, I picked the place because it was a very nice Spring day, and I knew they had patio seating. In the event, by the time I got there, the sky had clouded over, and the temperature had dropped too much for outside seating to be comfortable.

Taking myself inside, I remembered why I had not been back after my first time. The interior was sort of dark and cave-like, not cheery at all, and everything seemed kind of industrial and not homey. In addition, the burgers were quite pricey and I felt like I was paying Red Robin type table service prices for counter service. And while there was certainly nothing wrong with the burgers, I would not count them in the running for Columbia's best. Also, given the location, I wondered after both times why I hadn't just gone to Smash Burger across the street, something I'm guessing a lot of people did.

(Hat tip to commenter Elizabeth)

UPDATE 30 January 2016 -- As commenter MrBO notes, Midwood Smokehouse is now open in this spot: