Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

Depending on if you believe showcase.com or LoopNet (which has a nice aerial view), this building was built either in 1942 or 1939. Either way, it's an old one, and has a little character, at least from the front side.

I'm not entirely sure if the Stone Manufacturing Company is defunct or has just moved. They are still listed in the February 2011 phonebook with the notation "undwr" which coupled with the fact that the location is, or was, somehow involved with the still extant internet underwear retailing site underneath.com, I take to mean that it is or was a textile operation making underclothes. There's probably a joke in there somewhere about how people in glass houses shouldn't wear Stone's..

Once upon a time, this building was The Whale's Tail and then Rubino's Italian Restaurant. More recently it has been the second location for Alpine Road's Little Pigs Barbeque -- in fact, after the Alpine Road store caught fire, and before it was repaired, this was the flagship location, though it's hard to imagine a place further away from Alpine Road but still "in the Columbia area".

The building does not seem to be up for sale, and is still furnished, so perhaps the owners have plans to re-open, or open a different restaurant here.

(Hat tip to commenter Nobody).

UPDATE 17 June 2013 -- Cletus' Roadside Grille is now operating in this building (and has been for a while):

Here at the corner of North Main & Sunset Drive is another Columbia area Burger King not serving hamburgers.

However in this case, unlike many cases where a "remodeling" sign is more a fond wish than a hard fact, I think we can expect this store to be back in business before too long as there is actual work underway inside and out.

Heck, even the french fries are being remodeled!

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)

UPDATE 8 March 2012 -- Repainting has started:

UPDATE 24 October 2012: I've got some pix somewhere, but I shouldn't wait to find them to say that this Burger King is done remodeling and is open again.

Read the rest of this entry »

I saw a little appreciation ad inside the front page of today's State to the effect that Mrs. Ann Hampton, the first princial of Satchel Ford Elementary School turned 100 years old today.

Mrs. (Or "Miss" as we called all our teachers then) Hampton was principal when I started first grade in 1967 and I think all the students there had an enormous amount of respect and affection for her. We never doubted that if we strayed, she would set us straight, but also never doubted that she had our best interests at heart. As I started second grade, she guided the school through the potentially difficult task of integrating both the student body and faculty, and as I recall it, things went very smoothly. We all looked forward to her daily morning messages over the intercom, and the programs she led in the cafetorium.

Today, the school is led by one of her onetime charges, and the ballfield behind the school bears her name.

Happy Birthday Miss Hampton!

The north-forty was great. The south-forty was a little dry..

Interestingly, I cannot find this barber shop, on Percival Road between Decker Boulevard and Forest Drive, in any of my phonebooks. It does show up in google, but it's neither in the BellSouth white pages nor the BellSouth yellow pages. Commenter Sidney says it was there for 8 years until it ran into financial difficulties in January.

At any rate, judging by the current tenant, you can still get a severe haircut there!

(Hat tip to commenter Sidney)

UPDATE 11 June 2020: Add map icon.

This little storefront in Sequi Center (almost across the street from the Sesqui State Park entrance) has obviously been a number of things over the years. A little googling turns up Second Debut which was a thrift shop, but the sign covered up by the Sew N Sew banner doesn't look like it belonged to a thrift shop (I could be wrong..) so I'm guessing there was another shop in between.

Commenter Miz T says that Sew N Sew was there at least two years ago, and that they were gone by mid January, so I'm guessing they probably left with the old year at the end of December.

(Hat tip to commenter Miz T)

This State story from 29 January 2012 says that Bath & Body Works

[I]s in the process of closing as its lease expires.

Which makes me fairly comfortable listing the closing date as 31 January 2012.

I've never stepped into a Bath & Body Works, as I don't have a lot of requirements for a bath other than soap, but I always had an impression that it was kind of a scrappy chain since the only two I was aware of were this one in Richland Mall and one in Inlet Square Mall in Murrells Inlet. Neither mall could be called prime real estate, but the stores hung in there for years.

The Richland Mall store was at the edge of the food court (which is down to one restaurant) and just past the old S & S Cafeteria.

Luckily, there are alternatives:

Scrappin' Creations is a scrap-booking operation that had a store at the Village At Sandhill right next to J.C. Penny. When I went by last week, it appeared that the place may now be a police office, or at least there was some sort of sign in there about police. (I didn't look real close because it would be awkward sticking my nose against the window and taking pictures if there were police in there looking out at me..)

Scrappin' Creations itself is still around and organizing events and trips. Their blog is here and they have a Facebook page as well.

(Hat tip to commenter Elizabeth)