Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

The Pitt Stop convenience store and Shell station at the corner of Parkland Plaza has closed.

According to the Post & Courier story located by commenter Andrew, Cayce city government is telling people not to panic: It won't be more student housing.

What it will be is apparently currently unknown.

Interestingly, that news story shows the place branded as Express Lane, which doesn't show up in my online searches or Google Streetview (which shows the Pitt Stop branding).

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)

Clean Eatz is more than a restaurant that offers healthy food. We are heart-driven to change livez through clean, balanced food, thought-provoking education.

That certainly sounds ambitious, even if I'm not quite sure what it means, but this location of the chain, next to the former Brueggers, has now closed.

(Hat tip to commenter Brian)

Kairos was part of the first wave of tenants in this new building which was constructed after the razing of the old Ruby Tuesday.

I ate here probably a dozen times or so over the several years it was open. Originally they had a few tables on the sidewalk in front of the store which I liked to sit at in good weather, but at some point they lost those, and nobody working there seemed to know anything about it.

I was rather ambivalent about the concept itself. I believe someone here called it "bowls of goo" a few months ago, and that was kind of an issue. I found that if I just treated it as a bespoke salad, it was good, but trying to go beyond that was just too much thrown together that should probably have been separate.

The place closed without warning (as restaurants tend to do) in mid-December, and the WLTX story is here.

(Hat tip to Mr. Hat)

Here is another local spot I was unaware of.

Crossings Deli at the intersection of Farrow & Parklane Roads closed around Thanksgiving, and is now soul food venue LeeBoy Kountry Kitchen.

Crossings farewell message is here.

(Hat tip to commenter Payne)

Apparently SAS means San Antonio Shoemakers, and they are headquarted, logically, in San Antonio.

I was not really aware of their Forest Acres store until commenter Larry mentioned it, but it is in the little retail center abuting the former Richland Mall. I took these pictures in mid-December, so the logical time for the final closing would probably have been the end of the year, but I have not driven by again to see if in fact they are now closed.

(Hat tip to commenter Larry)

Posting will probably continue light through the holidays and into the New Year, except for some Christmas music...

That said, I noticed the other week that Nuttall on Two Notch in the old, Dick Dyer location had rebranded as a Midas.

Actually, The Post & Courier says that the change was done in April when the local Midas franchaise, Palmetto Garage Works bought out Nuttall, but they have only gradually been changing the branding, with the sign finally coming down/going up in November.

Nuttall moved here from Millwood in late 2020, so that was about a five year run at this location.

I took in Brookgreen Gardens Nights Of A Thousand Candles on Wednesday 3 December this year. For a midweek showing, they had a pretty good crowd, though it being a school night, there were not a lot of kids.

At last year's event, the Garden Of The Muses was closed due to the start of construction on the Judith Wall Courtyard, which is nearly done this year. The part that was opened looked like it will be a nice addition with a restaurant patio overlooking the Muses. My impression is that the event this year was slightly smaller in scope than previously, with only one entertainment tent on the Christmas Tree side of the gardens, and with the food trucks being deployed near that rather than down the walkway to Pegasus. In addition there were no fire-pits for s'mores, which I had been looking forward to. The weather was pretty good: Crisp, but not so cold that my hands froze taking pictures, and there was a spectacular full moon.

There are still a good number of nights you can catch the festival during the rest of the year. You can (and must) get tickets at

Read the rest of this entry »

Cafe Strudel opened in this Lexington restaurant space in May of 2018, replacing (after a hiatus) Kovachi's.

The Cafe Strudel brand, which included this store and the original State Street location in West Columbia, was recently purchased from its founders by the Foundry Hospitality Group which will be retaining the original flagship and bringing a yet to be specified new concept to this spot.

Considering the the original location has been up since 1997, you might think I could have managed to stop by sometime in the last nigh unto 30 years, but in the event not yet.

You can read about the closing on ColaDaily or in The State.

(Hat tip to commenter James R)

Crafty Crab was one of Columbia's influx of crab-themed restaurants over the past several years, and replaced Tin Lizzy's Cantina in this Vista storefont. The recent Google reviews are interesting and share several themes, possibly pointing to the ultimate fate of the place, though I don't see any media articles on the closing.

The strip itself is quite busy: There was too much traffic to park and get a good shot of the place.

(Hat tip to commenter Larry)

I was unfamiliar with the Robbie D. Wood company, but it appears they are truckers who specialize in "hazardous waste transportation and chemical product transportation", and they are still in business.

It's not entirely clear when they left this Pineview Road location, but I have one indication that the site sold in April 2025. However it appears to be back on the market now, with a real estate sign which appears to correspond to this listing. The property is pretty deep, definitely much larger than it appears from the front.

(Hat tip to commenter Gypsie)

UPDATE 25 November 2025: Commenter Gypsie points out that it was actually commenter Badger who called out this closing. I blame it on my fingers: Bad fingers!