Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

I assume Cash Kwik was one of the areas many payday loan operations, though the sign doesn't really say anything specific. They tend to come and go fairly quickly, probably because there's a lot of competition, and they make loans to people who aren't very credit-worthy -- get the interest rate wrong by a few points and there goes your margin..

There are still a couple of this chain in town, but I am unable to find this particular one in any phonebook I have at home, so I'm just giving "late 2000s" for the closing date. Certainly it's been gone long enough to have its placard removed from the roadside marquee for Magnolia Pointe.

Magnolia Pointe is the Pig-anchored plaza at the South-East corner of Clemson Road and Hardscrabble Road. It has a few other vacancies, but still looks better than The Crossings with is just across Hardscrabble.

"Boss! The Plane! The Plane!" — Sorry, but that had to be said

I'm not quite sure what is going on with Club Fantasy Island, a tiny strip club on Two Notch Road which basically shares a parking lot with the old Shrimper restaurant and the old Atlantic Twin Theater. (As I recall, the club got a bit of notoriety some years ago when there was a shooting in the parking lot, but I'm not sure if the incident was actually related to the club itself, a neighboring club, or was random.)

Anyway, I took these pictures back in early March 2012 because I had noticed that when driving down Two Notch at times the club should normally be open, it wasn't. I almost went ahead and did a closing on it then, but one night somewhat later when I drove by, it was open once more, and I saw it open normally after that. Then, in June, I think, it was closed again, so I don't know exactly what the status is, but if they re-open again, I'll just update the post title.

UPDATE 28 January 2022 -- This building has now been razed. Hope somebody got the neon sign:

Also updating tags and adding a map icon.

Though I never went, it seems to me as though Jungle Jim's was there forever. I think I can remember seeing it when I visited The Parthenon in the 1970s.

As you can see from these pictures, it at least made the transition from the China Garden era to the Grandma's era as the front part of the building in which the bar is located changed concepts. (I believe that the whole building at 724 is under one ownership). Notice how the sign on the north side of the parking lot morphed from

China
Garden
Parking
Only
Towing
Enforced

to

Parking
Only

I'm not sure when Jungle Jim's closed, but it is listed in the February 2012 phonebook, so I am going with "early 2012". The follow-on operation, Rum Runners switches from a jungle theme to a pirate concept, supported by deck murals.

UPDATE 24 June 2019: Add tags and map icon.

I had a hard time finding this Kentucky Fried Chicken in the phonebook because they actually still listed as "Kentucky Fried Chicken" rather than KFC. Good for them! (Interestingly, other KFCs are listed some at the front of the 'K' section with the acronyms and others alphabetically after the "KE" businesses..).

Anyway, they are definitely listed in this year's (February 2012) phonebook, and I'm guessing from commenter Brandi's heads-up that they probably closed very recently. Certainly, as you can see, the store has yet to be stripped of all the equipment and fixtures, and the place doesn't yet seem to be listed as for sale.

(Hat tip to commenter Brandi)

UPDATE 19 August 2016 -- Now Auto Money - Title Loans:

Tomlinson's was the follow-on operation to San Jose Restaurante Mexicano. I'm not sure when it closed, but I did the San Jose post in January of 2010, and I can't find Tomlinson's in either the 2011 or 2012 phonebooks, so I'm guessing 2011 by default. I know I've been down US-1 a few times in the past year, but I can't actually ever recall noticing it before. The red sales-ticket shaped sign is quite nice.

UPDATE 19 August 2016 -- Now Pelican's Snoballs:

UPDATE 10 May 2021: Adding map icon and updating tags.

This storefront, caty-cornered from the Harbison Barnes & Noble, was originally an OfficeMax. When OfficeMax left South Carolina in 2006, Office Depot took the opportunity to take over the space.

As far as I know, Office Depot isn't in any trouble as neither the Two Notch nor Dutch Square stores seem to be closing, but I guess it was a hard sell to get people to brave Harbison traffic for printer paper and paper clips.

Unlike a lot of store closing sales, this one actually had some good bargains. I got an external DVD drive and a USB drive enclosure for a really good price when I went in to check it out.

UPDATE 12 September 2012 -- The place is now a liquication outlet. This seems to be similar to the kind of event sometimes hosted by the Jamil temple where you pay an entrance fee and then look for bargains on electronics and other items. When I went by a week or two ago, the door fee was $5:

UPDATE 1 May 2013 -- It's now Golfsmith:

Commenter Matt mentions that this building at the corner of Forest & Sunnyside Drives, more or less across the street from Zesto, is being remodeled from multiple suites into a single space, and now we can see that it is going to be a Matress Source.

Putting the address into google turns up a number of former tenants.

Since the web site of MBenton Personal Training still lists this address as their gym (ie: hasn't been updated), I suspect they are no longer around. Michael's Cleaners still has a number of locations in Columbia, but I don't know if one of them moved from here or if they are seperate ownership. Posh Pets had several locations, and seems to have moved this one to 3400 Forest Drive. Jackie's Uniforms has moved to Sunnyside. Ashley's Studio is not listed in the current phonebook.

(Hat tip to commenter Matt)

UPDATE 19 December 2022: Updating tags and adding map icon.

Well, it's unclear to me exactly when the hammer finally dropped, but all the remaining private businesses are now out of Decker Mall. I decided to stop by last week, and found that once I was inside, the only occupied space was the Dentsville Magistrate's office, and that most of the mall is now cordoned off by wire fencing in advance of the place being remodeled to house a bunch of Richland County Government offices.

I've written in various places about Decker Mall tenants, and thus in passing about the mall itself, but I've never done an entry for the mall per se.

In the beginning, Decker and Bush River malls were twins, with both being laid out as a strip anchored on one end by Richway (with the distinctive triangles on top) and on the other end by Kroger. The only real difference was that Bush River had a multiplex and Decker did not.

I'm not sure when Decker Mall opened, but it was definitely while I was in High School, probably around 1977. At the time, Columbia Mall was thriving, and just a few blocks away, so from the get-go, Decker had to find a different focus. With a discount store as one anchor, and a grocery as the other, the stores in the interior between the two tended to be smaller national chains, local chains, and one-off locals. Apart from clothing and other stores that didn't catch my teenage eye at all, I can recall Gateway Books, Flipside Records & Tapes, and my favorite, The Land of Oz video arcade.

After the Richway chain folded, Gold Circle took that anchor spot, and then when they folded, Target moved in. As far as I could tell, they always did a good business, but at some point a general mania struck Decker Boulevard businesses and they all begain a flight to Nort East Two Notch Road regardless whether there was still a customer base at the original location. When both Target and Kroger joined the flight, the writing was not only on the wall for Decker Mall (that wall had been scribbled for years..) but now it was etched in.

A number of local businesses that didn't rely on foot traffic held on there for years, but the last is now gone, and the next phase of life for the mall, if not *as* a mall is about to begin.

I have gone through a number of old city directories at the RCPL and have come of with this list of tenants for various years:

1977:

Does not list a mall at 2500, just Richway Stores.

1978:

• Decker Mall Shopping Center
• Richway Inc
• Richway Auto Center
• Ann & Andy Fashions
• Fashion Bug of Bush River Inc
• Dipper Dan Ice Cream Shop
• The Peanut Shack
• Country Corner gift shop
• Reflections
• Fayva Shoes
• Good Health Food & Nutrition
• Jenkins Flower Botique Inc
• Manufacturings Outlet Shoes
• Land of Oz
• The News Room (restaurant & lounge)
• Command Performance
• Yummy Yogurt
• Flipside Records & Tapes
• Kroger Sav On Food & Drugs

1979:

• Decker Mall Shopping Center
• Richway Inc
• Richway Auto cener
• Fashion Bug of Bush River Inc
• Country Corner
• Reflections (men's clothes)
• Gateway Books
• Fayva Shoes
• Jenkins Flowers & Bride's Place
• Manufactures [sic] Outlet Stores (shoes & clothes)
• Land of Oz
• Command Performance
• Harvey's Warehouse (stereo equipment wholesale)
• Flipside Records & Tapes
• Kroger Sav On Food & Drugs
• Kroger Sav On Pharmacy

1983:

• Decker Mall Shopping Center
• Richway Inc
• Richway Auto Center
• Arnold's Formal Wear
• Four Seasons
• Mill Fabrics
• The Micro Shop
• The Shoe Tree
• Land Of Oz
• Command Performance
• Flipside Records & Tapes
• Kroger Sav-On Food & Drugs
• Video Ventures
• Melody Music Center
• Olan Mills Inc
• Rush's Fast Foods

1988:

• Cola Magic & Customs Shop (theatrical supplies & equipment)
• Decker Mall Shopping Center
• Gold Circle
• Four Seasons
• China City
• Command Performance
• Kroger Sav-On Food & Drugs
• Stone Works Home of The Dirt Cheap Mine (jewelery specialty)
• Melody Music Center
• First Federal of South Carolina (in Kroger?)
• Olan Mills Inc
• Rush's Fast Foods
• State Department of Highways & Public Transportation
• Columbia Magic & Costume Shop
• Magic & Miracles Productions
• Pettit William H Agency (talent agency)
• Expert Alterations & Fine Mending

1993:

• Target
• China City
• Kroger Sav-On Food & Drugs
• First Savings Of South Carolina (in Kroger?)
• Rush's Fast Foods
• State Department of Highways & Public Transportation
• Expert Alterations & Fine Mending

1998:

• Branch Banking & Trust Co (in Kroger? in Target?)
• Carolina First Corporation (where?)
• China City of Columbia
• Expert Alterations
• Kroger Drugs
• Rush's Food Systems
• Target Store

2003:

• Healthy Home Foods Inc
• Legends Security & Sound
• Little China Buffet
• Pup's Barber Shop Express
• Rush's
• Special Occasions (catering)
• Expert Alterations
• Precisely Yours (beauty salon)
• Changing Faces (beauty salon)
• New Life World Ministries

2008:

• Arcadia Self Storage
• Legends Security & Sound
• Little China Buffet
• Division of Motor Vehicles
• Nunies Mini Stand (convenience)
• Richland County Magistrate
• Rush's
• Special Occasions
• D & T Fashions
• Expert Alterations
• Changing Phaces (beauty salon)
• New Life World Ministries

2011:

• Extra Space Storage
• Shekinah Glory Family Care (childcare)
• Special Occasions (banquet rooms)
• Legends Security & Sound
• Division of Motor Vehicles
• Richland County Magistrate
• Expert Alterations
• New Look New U (beauty salon)
• Rush's

Note that some time between 1988 and 1993, the mall offices stop being listed, so perhaps the mall as a corporate entitiy was gone by that point. Note also that Rush's and China City/Little China are outparcels.

Here is Sky City's writeup on Decker Mall, and following are pictures and links from my other Decker Mall posts.

My post discussing the county purchase.

Kroger:

DMV:

Land of Oz:

Richway / Gold Circle / Target:

I know I have some other Decker Mall pictures around, and I will add those as I find them.

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This Kmart, accessible from Fort Jackson Boulevard, Devine Street, Crowson Road and Wildcat Road has been there for my entire, remembered, life (it is technically a little younger than I am), and was a place I went many times with my Mother over the years (though probably not as many times as to the Two Notch store). In the beginning, the left side of the Kmart building was occupied by a Big Star grocery and then by an Old America Store. Finally, in the throes of the last good idea the chain had, Kmart converted to a Big-K format store and expanded into the old grocery space. This status-quo lasted a good number of years, but recently there have been signs of malaise like closing and trying to rent out the auto service bays.

I want to like Kmart as I have good childhood memories of the place, but their current strategy seems to be to not have a strategy, other than, perhaps, closing stores when Wal Mart opens nearby. Now, I'm not saying I know what a successful stragegy for them would be, but good heavens, they have to try *something*! Go 24 hours, get Martha Stewart back, co-brand with The Food Channel, open in-store bowling alleys -- something!

And hire some staff, yes, that's expensive, but if you're in a "bet the company" situation (and you are, whether you think of it that way or not) you've got to make shopping easy. The last time I stopped at this store, I was in a bit of a hurry and found my item quickly, but it was in a locked display case with nobody in the department. The staff I could find in other departments were very friendly, but couldn't leave their area and nobody ever showed up who could make the sale before I had to go -- so they didn't make that sale, and I'm not sure they can afford to not make sales.

Anyway, as of Memorial Day, the place was not completely picked clean and still had some reasonable looking bargins. I noticed in particular, that if you need some alkaline batteries, now is the time to get your "Die Hard" AAA, AA 9V & Cs (didn't see any Ds).

UPDATE 6 June 2012 -- And, it's gone!

UPDATE 11 June 2012 -- Pix from 7 June. The Devine Street roadside sign is gone, and the marquee sign is about to go:

UPDATE 14 June 2012: Added full 7 June 2012 photoset.

UPDATE 20 June 2012 -- As these pictures from 8 June show, all the signage is now gone (also added full 8 June photoset below):

Photosets:

Photoset 7 June 2012

Photoset 8 June 2012

UPDATE 7 October 2019: Add map icon, update tags.

[Front Row Bottom left-to-right: Brian Wilson-Piano/Vocals, Jeff Foskett-Guitar/Vocals, David Marks-Guitar, Mike Love-Vocals, Al Jardine-Guitar/Vocals, Unknown, Bruce Johnston-Keyboards/Vocals]

(Wanted to get this out last night, but my uploads didn't finish..)

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