Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

To my memory, I only ate at Scatori's once, probably about five years ago, and it was fine, though not any better than my normal Strand pizza venues. I did think whenever I heard of it that the name was a bit unfortunate.

The Sun News says that the place had been open 15 years, which would have made it an early storefront in this shopping center, which I still think of as 'new' itself. The chef, who featured on TV's Cutthroat Kitchen has gone on to West Virgina to run a food truck which seems like an odd progression, but I guess that's what he wanted to do.

Both news articles say that Scatori's was sold in January (though it did not close then), but it appears that as of yet, the new owners have not done anything to the interior setup or furnishings.

(Hat tip to commenter Dan R)

Happy Thanksgiving all!

A Fuego was the follow-on operation in this spot to Pizzeria Opa, and opened sometime in the fall of 2021. I never visited, and know nothing about Peurto Rican food, but the place got good reviews.

As far as I know, nothing new has been announced for the spot, but given the setup, I would expect another restaurant at some point.

(Hat tip to commenter Heath for the heads-up and the last three pictures above)

Commenter Andrew mentioned back in 2016 that this Kleen Kare location had closing signage up, but I totally spaced on checking it out, and completely forgot about it until commenter Gypsie mentioned that the building was actually For Sale.

Kleen Kare is on an outparcel of Seven Oaks Shopping Center, not far from two other outparcels (here & here) which have also seen business shut semi-recently.

(Belated hat-tip to commenter Andrew, recent tip to commenter Gypsie)

When I went to do a closing for Swiff, I noticed that it was in the old Strictly Running location, and I had never done one for that, so let me do that here as well.

Athletic gear retailer (and event sponsor) Strictly Running moved to 2515 Devine Street some time ago -- Google Reviews suggests around 2016.

Swiff started as a popup store various places around town such as Soda City Market and opened this storefront for locally designed fashion in February of 2022 as reported in The State. The Free Times reports a bit more about the motivation and background for the brand.

Although the store is closed, Swiff remains online.

(Hat tip to commenter Deanna)

As mentioned in the closing for New Brookland Tavern, that operation will be moving to this famous storefront on Harden Street. What wasn't clear to me from the stories (The State & The Free Times) was exactly what was to happen to The Cotton Gin. When I went by Five Points a few weeks ago, it appeared to still be open, and there are recent Google reviews. I still have not seen anything in the media pinning things down, but judging from their Instagram feed, it appears that 25 November will be the last day for The Cotton Gin.

McCary's Bar & Grill (the sign suggests McCary's Sports Bar & Grille, but the Facebook page doesn't support that) shares a parking lot with the phone & loan building that featured here last week.

Judging from the Google reviews, this place probably closed around September of 2023, though given their last Facebook post was 22 June 2023, and there was a shooting there on 28 June 2023, it's possible they did not re-open after that.

I'm not sure how long ago this incarnation started, but the building has been a bar as long as I can recall. The reviews suggest there was not much Irish about it beyond the logo and name at this point, so possibly the ownership changed sometime in the past.

UPDATE 6 December 2023: Adding Kentucky Fried Chicken to the post title based on comments from KC & Brandon.

UPDATE 18 September 2024 -- Open again as The New McCary's Bar & Grill: