Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

Taps was for sale a couple of years ago, and I took a picture then in anticipation that I might need it, but of course now that they actually have closed, I can't find it. If you google "taps bar columbia" it will point you to a nice google streetview picture..

At any rate, this little bar was tucked in next to the Big Lots plaza on Two Notch behind Dunkin Donuts and when I was at Big Lots the other day, I noticed that it had been reflagged as R & B Bar & Grill which is rather more '&'s than usual.

The last review I see is from 10 August 2016, so I'm putting the closing as "Summer 2016".

I was driving Taylor towards Huger the other week and noticed a real-estate sign in front of this nice brick warehouse building. My pix are not great, and the place definitely looks better on the Wright Johnston site. I'm not totally sure if this is a closing or a move, but given that that site has not been updated with any new location, I'm pretty sure it's the former. According to the history there, Wright Johnston started as a general men's clothing store in 1937 but later switched to focusing on public safety uniforms only.

This LoopNet listing suggests that the building went on the market in April.

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Well, here is the second of the three Columbia area Bi-Los recently reflagged as Harveys. This one is in Widewater Square at the corner of Broad and Saint Andrews Roads.

I see Harveys has been "trading" since 1924. Not bad for an intangible rabbit.

I noticed the otehr night that Hampton Hill Atletic Club next to Jimmy Johns in Shoppes At Woodhill had closed and been replaced by Stronghold Gym.

A little googling establishes that Hampton Hill went Chapter-11 (debtor in possession) at the end of June 2015. I guess in the end they were not able to reorganize and make a go of it.

Looking at things after writing the above, I think I may be wrong about this being part of Shoppes At Woodhill. It appears that Shoppes At Woodhill is the stores along Garners Ferry and Pellham Drive. The back side with Target, World Market etc appears to have separate signage.

Calendar leaves anyway..

The final leaf falls in 41 days, so better stock up now for 2017!

And how better to spend the winter months than looking at images from SC's Island Paradise?

Or more succinctly, the new calendars are ready:

Choose a new design for the coming year, or pick one of the nine classic designs still available.

Not long after closing the Forest Drive store, Bi-Lo continues to make changes in the Columbia market. As mentioned by commenter James R, and explained in this State story, three of Columbia's Bi-Lo's are being reflagged as Harveys. That brand is still associated with the chain, but targets a more value-conscious shopper. To me it seems a little awkward to admit your flagship stores aren't value-conscious, but there you go.

This store in High Point On Decker is already fully converted, with a new facade and even a marquee on the High Point street sign tower. Though I could have sworn I drove that stretch very recently without noticing any work.

According to The State, the other two local stores switching over are the one at the top of Saint Andrews Road and the one, which I can't bring to mind at all, on Monticello Road.

(Hat tip to commenter James R)

Golfsmith was the follow-on operation in this storefront to OfficeMax/Office Depot, moving in sometime in 2013.

As this article explains, the firm filed for Chapter 11 in mid September. What went wrong, well, from the same source

But really what went wrong, and what happens next?

To the first point, it’s clear from a read of the Golfsmith bankruptcy filing and those familiar with the company both internally and externally that Golfsmith expanded to its current 109 stores in the U.S. too aggressively, in the wrong way (as far as store formats go) and most likely without proper capital to support such expansion.

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All of which was exacerbated by the fact that--as part of the Chapter 11 filing reads--“the enthusiasm underpinning the ‘Tiger Woods Phenomenon’ significantly waned.”

Apparently Dick's Sporting Goods has acquired at least some of the Golfsmith assets, but I'm not clear from this story whether that is nationally or just in Pennsylvania.

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)

UPDATE 13 September 2017 -- Now a popup Halloween store, Spirit Halloween:

I never went to this place often, but at one time it was on my regular rounds, and I probably stopped by two or three times a year. I realized though when commenter Justin mentioned the place was closing that it had probably been twenty years since my last visit.

In the event, I found it pretty much as I remembered it. The place is divided into two buildings, the one on the north side of the property has an "ice house" look, while the one on the south side may have been a small warehouse. Each building is divided into individually curated stalls, thus the fairly common "antique mall" format. I hadn't recalled a stall with what looked to be pretty much every issue of Playboy ever published, but there was one, as well as a 40's era Rockola jukebox I would dearly love to have had I the space and the cash, along with several old kitchen ranges about which I could say the same.

Walking through, I was also given a few instances to reflect on how much life, or at least my life, has changed. At one time, I would probably have examined every 33 & 45 in the stacks, and probably would have found some to take home. Now: a) Who has the time? & b) What would I do with them? I do have a turntable, but realistically it's easier to find the song online and pay $0.99 for it rather than spend 20 minutes futzing with the turntable and CD recorder. The same largely goes for old books.

I didn't see any notice posted to the effect of "We lost our lease", or "We're retiring" to explain the upcoming closure, but I would guess that this lot, which for years was out of the way, and down-at-the-heels, is now a pretty valuable property with the recent opening of apartments in the Palmetto Compress Warehouse and the Carolina Collegiate FCU location.

(Hat tip to commenter Justin)

UPDATE 6 April 2017 -- As reported in the comments, this place has been razed. At the time of these pictures, it was the South building only. They are reportedly both gone now:

I didn't know the South Carolina Association of Counties was a thing, but it is, and apparently they have moved from this Fernandina Road location to 1919 Thurmond Mall, near Richland Street.

Capitol City Insurance whose marquee you can almost see on the building and whose name the LoopNet listing puts to the building, seems to have moved north up Fernandina to the other side of Piney Grove to 1 Fernandina Court.