Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

Well, here's another picture heavy closing I don't have a lot to say about other than that google suggests the actual official business name was Horton Produce. I assume that buying "The Honor System Way" means the place was generally unattended, but it seems like a pretty high traffic area for that kind of trust.

I've noticed this lot on Old Bush River Road several times over the past few months, and finally stopped to walk over and get some pictures. The site is actually quite large, LoopNet puts it at 3.5 acres, and I can believe it. If you walk back past the big oak and the remnants of the shed, there is an open meadow area that I did not expect at all.

There's also an impressive pokeberry bush, but its well over knee high, so I don't guess there's any danger of anyone cooking it up. (Well, I gues that would be a danger..)

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Well, I don't have a lot to say about this. It was a carwash; it's closed.

But it was a bright sunny day, of which we have had too few lately, and it had an interesting look, so I took lots of pictures.

I *am* a bit bemused by the idea that you wouldn't bring a dirty car there...

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Crouch Distilling is the second alcholic beverage producer in this light industrial park off of Bluff Road that I have done a closing for. The first was for brewery Conquest Brewing Company.

Crouch was cooking up tipples of higher proof than beer, and The Free Times took time to praise their Jimmy Red Corn Whiskey while announcing the closing.

No Smoking

I was down at the far end of Rosewood last month, and noticed this fireworks store/warehouse. Looking at the google reviews, they were active up at least into May 2020. The company itself is still around, and it's not clear to me if this office has closed or just moved somewhere.

At any rate this building is for sale.

When commenter Sidney tipped that this store was closing on the 19th, I thought I would have the whole day to get out there and get some inside pictures. In the event, I think they closed for good at 5, and I got there around 6. I have to say that just from what I can see through the doors, it does not look as picked-over as I expected.

This store was part of the initial troubles faced by Sandhill, as the chain went bankrupt during the great recession, along with another Sandhill anchor (Sofa Express iirc) leaving the shopping center hurting for rent income. Bi-Lo eventually came out of bankruptcy, though it certainly has not had smooth sailing since then. I have forgotten all the details about who bought whom for all the Bi-Lo locations , but the plan is for this one to become a Lowes Foods.

(Hat tip to commenter Sidney)

UPDATE 14 October 2020 -- That was fast! This place is now open as a Lowes:

As reported by commenter JohnR, this Urban Nirvana in the Lexington Towne Centre plaza on North Lake Drive between the closing Stein Mart and Food Lion is gone.

Looking at the Yelp reviews, it was open as late as June 2020, so they actually came through the lockdown period. Perhaps the customer volume just wasn't there in these trying times.

I think the plaza name is overdoing it a bit: Misspelling *two* words for "class"?

(Hat tip to commenter JohnR)

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To the best of my memory, I've only eaten at a Maurice's Piggy Park once, last year at the Charleston Highway location. I thought it was fine, but the chain seems to have hit a rough patch in the last few years with several locations closing. COVID-19 can't have helped, but I don't know if it were the deciding factor here.

This one is on US-1 in West Columbia to the east of the I-26 interchange and across from the Wal-Mart. I see from google maps that it is next to a Ruby Tuesday I had forgotten about, and which I did not check to see if it were open.

(Hat tip to commenter Lone Wolf)

UPDATE 9 March 2021 -- Now a Take 5 quick oil change operation:

As I drove past Dutch Square the other day, I noticed that the Goodyear location across from the cinema side of the mall had changed to a Tire Choice. Looking at pictuers on google, I see that as late as April 2018 it was still Goodyear, so it changed sometime after that.

I believe that closest I came to using this place as a Goodyear was once when I needed a headlight replaced (sealed beam) and they couldn't fit me in to the remaining time of the day. I think I ended up going to Pep Boys on Broad River and getting it done.

I did a closing for the Dutch Square Ruby Tuesday back in May. At that time I took pictures of this one, on a Columbiana Mall outparcel, as well. Since, unlike the other, there wasn't any clarity that this one was permanantly closed, I held off doing a post.

I drove back by today however, and nothing has changed. The "temporarily closed" sign is still up, but at this point I suspect that is no longer accurate. At the least, it's worth a mention and if they re-open later great! In the meantime, chalk up another one for for COVID-19.

UPDATE 7 June 2021 -- Razed: