Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

I noticed this vacant funeral home driving down Main Street near River Drive the other day. I could weed the pictures down further, but I like the clouds in the long shots too much to lose them.

You can still see the label-scar for the business name on the front of the building, and on the turned-inside-out roadside sign if you look closely enough. I had no doubts what the building was even before seeing them however as the design is pretty unequivocal. That's not to say it's generic -- I really like the sharp points and slopes of the roof-line. The online property data says it was built in 1960, which I have no problem believing, and LoopNet says it sits on a 1 acre lot, which I would not have guessed.

UPDATE 13 March 2025: Updating tags and adding map icon.

This interesting looking "modern" building on Sunset Boulevard across from the Lexington Place shopping center caught my eye in the late afternoon sunlight a few weekends ago.

You can see the fenced in pet-run area on the far side of the building, but the vets have moved to 109 Palmetto Park Boulevard. Perhaps they were zoned out of this office. I note that the LoopNet listing for the place says:

Free standing building on 1 acre. Would make excellent Doctor's office, Dentist office, Salon, Spa or similar uses. Prohibited uses include veterinary related types.

I know dogs can be noisy, but it couldn't be any worse than the traffic on Sunset Boulevard!

UPDATE 25 May 2016 -- Now a strip mall anchored by Smashburger:

LifeWay is a commercial outreach of the Southern Baptist Convention and their stores sell Bibles and church supplies. This one moved from the Barnes & Noble plaza on Harbison to Bower Parkway sometime in the 2000s. I know it's been more than a year ago as the first picture is from October 2010.

The little corner area where LifeWay was is kind of interesting as it has sort of an entrance corridor set off by a rather snazzy, filigreed girder. On the downside, being in the corner means that people have to park farther away from your store than most other stores in the strip.

After being vacant for a good while, the suite is finally re-opening as Anna's Linens

UPDATE 11 November 2011: Updated the moving date in the post title from "2000s" to "May 2010" based on commenter Andrew's research.

I liked this San Jose pretty well though I did not go there too often.

I recall being very proud of myself one time here when a young lady of my acquaintance simply refused to put on her bib as requested by her mother. Nothing worked until I took it and put it around my neck, netting me a shocked Hey, that's mine! look coupled with the immediate indication that I should give her bib back at once. I did, and she immediately put it on and kept it on for the rest of the meal...

The food here was the standard Mexican-run Mexican restaurant fare you see all over South Carolina. I did like that they had pico de gallo available as a side item for spicing up the salsa, which Pancho's down the street does not (or did not last time I was there).

The closing sign is interesting in that it suggests they may come back at some point. That raises by implication the issue of why they are leaving in the first place. Could this site be destined for some new building and they couldn't get a lease renewal? And it is hard to think of another space in the general area that isn't either too close to Pancho's or too close to Casa Linda. Note also that the other address name-checked on the sign is the former Santorini Grill.

(Hat tip to commenter Mrs. SK)

UPDATE 3 November 2011: Added Pizza Inn to the post title based on the comments.

UPDATE 17 February 2012 -- Well, it's confirmed that Pasta Fresca will be moving here. Also, they have pulled the whole front addition off of the building:

UPDATE 6 March 2012 -- Construction continues:

UPDATE 5 April 2012 -- And still continues:

UPDATE 16 April 2012 -- It looks like they are adding a patio:

UPDATE 7 May 2012 -- Construction is basically done now for the Pasta Fresca move (and note the new Pasta Fresca logo). I talked briefly to the owner, and he indicated that the menu will have the same dishes they have at the current location but add some new appetizer and meat dishes. They are shooting for a mid-May opening:

UPDATE 25 January 2023: Update tags, add map icon.

When I did the closing for Rudy's Upper Deck, commenter Bobby P. wondered how much longer the adjacent Subway would be able to make it. Unfortunately, the answer turns out to be "not long". I don't go to Subway too often as the booths and atmosphere don't really suit me, but they do make a decent sandwich.

This makes it three vacant storefronts in a row (Subway, Rudy's and Fast Cash Advance) at The Shoppes At Meeting Place, and at least one more non-contiguous one.

(Hat tip to commenter Peter)

UPDATE 18 January 2012 -- Some sort of work is going on here:

UPDATE 5 April 2012 -- Open again, yet still closed the day I drove by:

UPDATE 17 June 2022 -- This place is closed again, this time apparently for good. Also updating tags and adding map icon.

I figured I could at least get a street address by tracking down the Colliers Keenan listing for this Leesburg Road property just east of I-77, across from Greenlawn Cemetary and alongside Pringle Road, but for some reason, I can't find it on the Colliers site.

That being the case, I know essentially nothing about this building other than it is in poor shape and looks to have been a car repair garage. The trussed arched wood roof is very nice although open to the sky in most places now, and there are a couple of mysteries posed by the coat hangers and the jaunty mascot.

UPDATE 1 November 2011: Added the full street address to post title.

UPDATE 21 January 2014: Commenter badger suggests the correct street address is 819 Leesburg Road. I don't have any better guess, so I have changed the post title to use 819 instead of 821. He also suggests the business was either Berne or Laberne Equipment, so I am adding those as well.

UPDATE 28 August 2017 -- This building has now been razed as shown in these not very good drive-by shots:

UPDATE 25 October 2017 -- Construction is starting here. Unfortunately, I did not get a good enough picture to read the sign saying what is forthcoming:

UPDATE 27 January 2018 -- The new structure is framed now, and, as you can see if you click through and look very closely at the sign, is to be a Dick Smith Body Shop:

On my way to the Fairgrounds Monday to pick up some artwork, I noticed that this Midlands Tech area dry-cleaner had closed. The building is one of Columbia's surprisingly many stone facade structures. From the outlines of a bay doors on the back, and the gull-wing lights at the corner of the lot, I suspect the building may first have been a gas station.

UPDATE 28 June 2017 -- This building has now been razed:

I have to admit I had no idea that this little place existed, despite driving past there a number of times over the past few months, and I have to wonder if the location was a factor in the place closing. In theory, it is visible from Garners Ferry Road, but in practice, this strip sits behind Ruby Tuesday and is not very conspicuous. Even if you are taking Patterson Road to the Wal-Mart across the street, Ye Old Fashioned would be on the side of the strip away from Wal-Mart...

Judging from the still extant web-site, The Old Fashioned is a Charleston institution, with this location being their first venture out of the Low Country. I have to say that the menu looks pretty good, though I probably wouldn't have driven all the way over there for lunch.

(Hat tip to commenter ginagate)

UPDATE 18 December 2011 -- Now open as Anthony's Old Fashioned Burger & Fry Co.:

UPDATE 8 January 2020 -- Updating the post address to remove the 7490 Garners Ferry Road address. The 7457 Patterson Road address seems to be the official one, though I have seen both. Added map icon.

Sewing & crochet shop Hook 'n Needle was a long-time retail stalwart at Intersection Center. In fact, I'm pretty sure they were the last shop there to either go under or move. Happily, the latter applies here, and at some point this year, Hook 'n Needle moved to the North-West corner of Boozer Shopping Center.

The first three pictures of the old location are from 29 August 2008, the fourth is from 4 September 2010 and the last three are from 24 September 2011.

The church rebuilding Intersection Center continues to make good progress, and hopefully I'll have some pictures of the repurposed Service Merchandise and the new fountain up soon.

UPDATE 22 January 2020: Add map icon, update tags.

I wrote about this place a good while ago in a closing for The Gamecock Theater, and actually in that closing, from 2008, I noted that it also was closed. It may not exactly be that simple though.

Anyway, Resale Revue, in its first incarnation, was an antique-mall type of place. I only went in once, and it seemed it skewed more towards flea-market type antiques (old records, toasters etc) than antique furniture -- which was fine by me. I think I may have gotten a dial telephone there, but I have a number of them (two still hooked up..) and can't really recall.

That incarnation was gone by 2008, but I noticed this year that the place was hosting events for the Indie Grits Festival using the old theater space as a venue. Given that the a Colliers Keenan sign was in place in 2008 and is still in place, I'm guessing that the owners rent the space out for events from time to time as they are able, and the name carries over as nobody is going to change the sign for that.

Update 2 September 2020: Take "Parkland Plaza" out of the post title and add it as a tag. Add map icon, update tags in general.