Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

Taste of China Hut had two Columbia locations after the one on Rosewood closed, this one at Main & Confederate, and another at 2233 Decker Boulevard. As far as I am aware, the Decker location is still open, but I'll try to remember to check it out.

I'm not a big fan of Chinese food and had never really noticed this building (which was clearly some other fast food franchaise in the beginning), but I have to say I really like the laughing Buddha.

(Hat tip to commenter Justin)

Here's The State story on the closing of Corner Kick, just down from the former Marinoni's in Murraywood Centre.

When I got by last Sunday, the place was still apparently still open (though closed for the day), but already referring customers to Todd & Moore with their door signs. My guess is that the poster is probably David Beckham or someone similar -- I wouldn't want to come up on that one unexpectedly.

(click-through rated PG-13..)

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I don't know much about this self-service car wash in between Widewater Square and Nancy's Nook other than it has seen better days (the LoopNet listing marks it as "distressed" and as an "office building").

The interesting thing is that although I must have driven past it dozens if not hundreds of times before, I can honestly say that when I saw it the other day, I had no memory whatsoever of ever having seen it before.

I've never really seen the point of this kind of wash. Just spend the extra $3.00 and drive through one with the foam and buffer.

UPDATE 23 November 2016 -- Someone has rehabilitated this wash, and it is now open again:

Here is another tiny strip club on Two Notch Road. The last phonebook entry was apparently in 2009, but online sources show it was actually open at least into September of 2011.

I have to say that I quite like the sign.

This old laundromat is across the street (Dunbar Road) from Frink Street's Town & Country plaza, and looks to have been vacant for a good while.

City Feet says it was built in 1970. To me it looks a little earlier. These places always had a certain smell, and a certain look, with the soap dispenser machine with its metal levers and slots, the hard plastic bucket chairs welded to a rail, and the plastic high folding tables. And of course, the whish-whish sounds of the washing machine agitators and the clinks of metal buttons each time the jeans got to the top of the dryer drum and fell down again..

UPDATE 14 December 2012: Updated the closing date from "1980s" to "mid-2000s" based on the comments.