Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

Kaboto Express was the follow-on in this storefront to Schlotzsky's Deli, and opened around September of 2011.

I notice that their initial signage did not include the phrase Hibachi Grill, and I wonder if they just weren't finished putting up the sign, or if that was a later direction shift.

(Hat tip to commenter brian)

UPDATE 13 March 2019 -- Work is on to open as Slice Of Columbia pizza:

UPDATE 7 February 2020 -- Slice of Columbia is open (and has been for a while):

After running as a Rite Aid with a Walgreens pharmacy counter for almost a year, this store on the deep corner of Forest Drive & Trenholm Road has finally made the switch to being an official Walgreens location. I'm a bit surprised that it took so long, and also that they slated it in the first place, as it is not that far from the Walgreens on the corner of Forest Drive & Beltline.

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)

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There's a little confusion on the name of this place in Trenholm Plaza. First of all, it is clear that the actual name of the place includes a degree sign as in 32 °. Second the current signage calls the place 32 ° Soft Serv while the original signage (and current posted closing note) calls it 32 ° a Yogurt Bar. Also, the current marquee (which is not really readable in the night shot above) also calls out custard in a subheading, which I wish I had noticed before they were slated to close.

At any rate, 32 °, which opened in 2010, replaced Hair Cuttery which closed at the end of 2008. I believe I noticed that the adjoining storefront was papered over, though for some reason I did not get a picture, so perhaps the plaza has something new and larger in the works for this wing.

(Hat tip to commenter Matt)

Update 4 February 2019: The Free Times puts the actual closing date as 27 January, so I have updated the post title from "February 2019" to reflect that.

Costume store Hip-Wa-Zee in Five points is closing next month. The State has the story. Most of this block has been in flux in recent years as it is apparently going to be completely redeveloped:

The developer, California based Campus + Main, has said it plans to build a mixed use space with the possibility of retail, office and residential units. Most likely a complete rebuild of most of the 900 block is in store.

The store opened in 1999, making for an impressive twenty year run. But in the end, as with so many other stores currently, the Internet was the deciding factor:

The one change that proved hardest to deal with was the growth of internet retail. When a developer who had bought up the rest of her block on Harden Street approached her about selling, she put him off for a year while she looked for a new location. But after an extensive search and seeing the changing retail landscape, Minerd came to the hard decision that it was time to sell and close up shop.

I didn't see a final closing date in The State, or WOLO stories, but the closing sale is ongoing, and you should probably get there soon.

I used to be obsessive about many things, well, I guess I still am though the things have changed over the years. One of them was records in general, and record stores. Since I spent most of my teenage years broke, after I discovered rock music in 1975 or so, I was all about the "cut-outs" and used records. At garage sales, I would flip through every album, at record stores, or even Woolworth's and Kmart I would look at *every* LP in the cut-out bin.

If I recall correctly, I first visited Manifest when it was on Main Street somewhere near Jefferson Square (though on the other side of the street). Two items I recall in particular buying there, were a The Nails album with one version (there are at least 3) of 88 Lines About 44 Women (nsfw), and Songs Of The Spires by The Gleaming Spires.

By the time the moved to Boozer Shopping Center, I was living out of town and listening almost exclusively to CDs (more accurately, to tapes of CDs in my car). In its way, this was sort of a Golden Age, because I had a job (and spending money), and used CDs, if they would play at all, sounded just as good as new CDs. When I was in town, I spent many hours flipping through all the "used" bins, as well as buying some of the more interesting "import" CDs which usually only turned up at Manifest or Sounds Familiar in Myrtle Beach.

The Golden Age didn't really last too long. By the end of the 20th Century, it was clear that the future of music was digital, and unclear where record stores fit into that future. In the event, it turns out that they more or less don't. Carl Singmaster, the founder of Manifest sold the store in 2004, and as I recall there was a closing scare at that time, or not long after.

Also, at some point, the name of the store changed from Manifest Records & Tapes (or at least that's the way I recall it) to the current name of Manifest CDs & DVDs. Unfortuneately, the bottom dropped out of the DVD market not many years after CDs crashed and burned, and that puts us here in the twilight of an era.

UPDATE 5 February 2019 -- Now closed:

According to The State, God's Blessing Cafe opened in early July 2018, serving classic Southern fare. This location is next to the former Jefferson Square Theater and is in the spot previously occupied by The Lunch Box, Palmetto Grille and Cavanaugh's Deli.

For me, this seems a tough spot to run a restaurant because parking issues will keep all but the local office crowd away. On the other hand, you could say the same about a number of Main Street lunch venues. Maybe it's just a bit too far North.

(Hat tip to commenter James R)

Happy New Year, Columbia!

This old-school appliance store, right next door to Spring Valley Liquor Store & Party Shop is now vacant.

You have got to admire that wringer equipped Maytag still (as of late December) holding down the fort, and waiting for cartoon hijinks:

(Hat tip to commenter thomas)