Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

I was vaguely aware of this place, but never got around to checking it out. The stone facade is something you saw on a number of buildings from the 70s -- I don't think anyone does that anymore.

Apparently this little plaza was the site of a bit of martial history.

(Hat tip to commenter James R)

Speaking of Pelican's (as we just were), I noticed that the Rosewood location is gone.

This was the follow-on operation in this building to Charlie's Barber Shop.

I'm not totally clear on what is going on. The real estate sign says that they have moved to 1912 Rosewood, which, as far as I can tell, is a vacant lot.

This former Pizza Hut in front of Intersection Center had been a title loan operation at least since 2012 and is now again vacant.

Since these old Pizza Hut buildings are so distinctive, I guess you have to decide whether people referring to you as "that place in the old Pizza Hut" as a plus or a minus..

(Hat tip to commenter Toby)

UPDATE 24 June 2021 -- This is to be K Seafood Market:

Also adding map icon.

I never stopped in this place, which was apparently a Lexington fixture, but I might well have liked it, as it apparently had Greek fare along with standard bar food.

Given the fact that they listed in last year's phonebook, but not this years, and that the last Yelp review is from 19 July 2016, I'm dating the closing as Summer 2016.

(Hat tip to commenter Brian)

I'm not sure when Atlantic Bedding & Furniture opened in Cedar Terrace, but it must have been after October 2009, as you can see its slot vacant in the closing for the Cedar Terrace Fred's.

It seems to be a well organized liquidation -- I even got a flyer in the mail.

With this closing, the big back building, which looks to be a former grocery to me, will be completely vacant, at least for the nonce.

UPDATE 16 August 2017 -- Actually though I list the closing date as February 2017 in the post title, this closing sale lasted quite a bit longer than I expected, and was well advertised all over town. It appears that the doors have now definitely closed:

UPDATE 27 September 2021: Updating tags and adding map icon.

Today's post is for a place of which I was totally unaware and comes from commenter Homer:

[This] is a group of pictures from Cotton House Seafood at 7777 St.
Andrews Rd. in Irmo. The story is....

I don't know when they actually closed but the last Facebook post on
their page is from May and from the looks of the deck I can believe it.
The sign on the door states that there were robberies and thefts and
that they will be closed until further notice. I guess Irmo's finest was
too busy setting up speed traps or hanging out at the Circle K to notice
any of this going on. Well, today I noticed the for sale sign next to
the road. Doesn't look like they will be reopening any time soon.

(Hat tip to commenter Homer, obviously)

Although I had thought about going to Quaker Steak & Lube serveral times, somehow I never got around to it. If I *had* gone, I would have taken the frontage road east at I-20 & Clemson Road. As I found out yesterday, that doesn't work -- that frontage road does not go all the way through from Clemson Road to Spears Creek Church Road, and in fact you have to take the Spears Creek Church Road exit.

Once finding the place, I discovered it was a wings joint, so I probably would not have gone out there often anyway as I dislike the smell of chicken. That aside, it's a nice looking building, and apparently they had bands play the small stage in the parking lot, presumably in the warmer months. There are stairs leading from the Quaker Steak lot down to the Harley Davidson Thunder Tower, so I expect they probably got a good bike crowd for those shows.

Interestingly, if you google for Quaker Steak & Lube in Columbia, this address is not the first thing that comes up. Instead, you are referred to 2150 South Beltline Blvd, which if you look at google maps, was a vacant lot the last time they took aerial pictures. I haven't been down there, but apparently the ground has been cleared for at travel plaza, and the new Quaker Steak will open there in March 2017.

Which ties in with something else I read online

Sunday, May 1, 2016 10:28 PM EDT
WESTLAKE, Ohio -The deal has been closed to sell the Sharon, Pennsylvania based Quaker Steak & Lube restaurant chain to a national truck stop chain based in Westlake, Ohio.

Travel Centers of America announced last week that it has completed the acquisition of Quaker Steak for approximately $25 million.

The transaction followed a chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by the parent company of Quaker Steak & Lube in November, which revealed that the wing restaurant chain had liabilities between $1 million and $10 million owed to hundreds of creditors.

So apprently Quaker Steak is becoming the house brand restaurant for TA Travel Centers.

Read the rest of this entry »

I think there was, or is, a Williams Sonoma on King Street in Charleston, and every now and then when I was in town and walking the shops district, I would drop in to see all the neat stuff that would never fit into my non-cooking lifestyle. I think I may have browsed this store too once, though my visits to Columbiana Mall are passing rare.

According to The State this was not a surprise closing, at least to mall management. They also mention that the Market Commons store in Myrtle Beach was closing as well. I'm unsure if that says more about Williams Sonoma or Market Commons which has struggled in recent years. Normally if a company is in trouble there will be some press about it, but all I see is a Motley Fool article citing a stock price fall.

According to the linked State article about the storefront

there’s a plan in place for what we hope to be a huge surprise in 2018

On the one hand, that sounds upbeat, on the other hand, 1 year+ is a long time for a slot to stay empty.

Those of you trying to comment since Sunday last will have noticed that you couldn't. I couldn't post either. Hopefully all is resolved now and normal posting will resume.