McDonald's Hamburgers, 2913 Two Notch Road: 14 July 2009 32 comments
Well, I wasn't expecting that. I drove by McDonald's on Two Notch tonight and found the place razed to the ground (with the exception of the sign). There's a yellow "zoning" notice sign in front of the place, but I couldn't tell what it said from across the street, and I didn't stay because I was about to be panhandled. I wouldn't have taken night pictures anyway, but with the bulldozer parked there, I was afraid that the sign would be gone by tomorrow.
This McDonald's, on the corner of Two Notch & Beltline, took the place of Chappy's Authentic English Fish & Chips in 1987, so it had been there a bit over 20 years. I don't believe I ever ate inside though I'm pretty sure I've gotten drinks at the drive-through. In general I haven't eaten much at McDonalds since the 1970s, but lately they have been getting better with pretty good coffee and wi-fi.
Apparently, this is being done to add drive-through capacity, according to this 9 Dec 2008 Zoning Board document:
This is a request to demolish and construct a fast food restaurant (McDonald’s) with a drive-through. The property will have ingress/egress along Two Notch Road and Beltline Boulevard. The drive-through for the fast food restaurant is situated within the site such that adequate stacking for vehicles can be provided.
The ammended request for a double drive-through was apparently approved on 14 July 2009 at 10am and they didn't waste any time after that!
UPDATE 17 July 2009: OK, the above reads a bit disjointedly since I hadn't looked up the zoning documents before writing the first part, ie: I wouldn't have worried about the sign being bulldozed if I had known from the get-go that they were going to rebuild on the same lot.
Anyway, here are the daylight pictures:
UPDATE 7 November 2009 -- Open again:
32 Responses to 'McDonald's Hamburgers, 2913 Two Notch Road: 14 July 2009'
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Tom
17 Jul 09 at 10:19 am
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I should also add that before Chappy's was there, the site was an A & W Root Beer that featured curb service.
Tom
17 Jul 09 at 10:19 am
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I don't think Mcdonald's is going to shut down. I think there are rebuilding a new one. And besides, I am sure there are a lot of Mcdonald's around Columbia
James Greek
17 Jul 09 at 10:54 am
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The McDonalds use to be on the corner and a Fish and Chip place where the current McDonalds is, or was for that matter. A tornado blew threw there in 1976 and demolished the McDonalds
and Chappys. McDonalds rebuilt next door. I remember that it wrecked a vacuum cleaner store across Beltline that had just been rebuilt after a fire.joel
17 Jul 09 at 12:22 pm
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I remember when that tornado wiped out the McDonald's. That was really sad because as I understood at the time, they planned to keep that location in its vintage state. That would be pretty cool to have an old fashioned, retro-look McDonald's in town.
E.J.
17 Jul 09 at 6:57 pm
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The one on Garners Ferry at Rosewood *was* a vintage walk-up. They knocked it down and rebuilt farther off the road back in the 70s, I believe.
ted
17 Jul 09 at 7:00 pm
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Konk Abbott Mcd's was also vintage. The first archless McD was Dutch Square.
Tom
18 Jul 09 at 5:09 pm
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The Garners Ferry McD's also had the Columbia areas McD's office next door to the left. It was later a Napa auto parts store. My buddy worked at McD's in high school and would have to go there for meetings etc.
jjt
18 Jul 09 at 5:40 pm
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I realize there were other locations that were vintage.
Let me try again. The Two Notch location was the last one to have *not* been replaced by an arch-less structure. They were planning to leave it that way for the foreseeable future, but the tornado wiped out that idea along w/ the old building.
E.J.
18 Jul 09 at 5:55 pm
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Where McDonals is/was/is/will be again on the corner of Two Notch and BeltLine, originally had A&W Drive-in back in the early to late 60's, when it "burned" under a suspiscious nature, that's when Chappy's was built and had the double decker bus parked out in front, until a tornado came along and flipped it over and damaged the building. The BK Lounge across the street I dont think was harmed. After Chappy's was gone, that's when McDonalds was built, unless it was behind Chappy's, but dont remember for sure..anyone? I dont remember it ever having the original Arches like the one on the hill at GF Road or the one in Cayce. The McDonalds on the Hill is in the same spot as the original one..the one there now I think is the 3rd or 4th one built on the same site.
Del
19 Jul 09 at 8:21 am
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Del - that's pretty much the way I remember it, except originally McD's was one lot away from the corner up Two Notch, and when Chappy's finally died and the corner became available McD built a new place there.
Going way back, when A&W had a full service drive in on that corner (Teen Burgers -- yum!) there was a steak house behind it, further down Beltline. It was either a Sizzler or a Western Sizzlin' -- whichever had the emaciated cow logo.
Dennis
20 Jul 09 at 10:28 am
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ALSO on or near this corner:
Was Chappy's originally an Arthur Treacher's? (Raise your hand if you know who Arthur Treacher was.)
Not on the corner, but across the street from the first McD's, is Columbia's first Burger King.
I stood in line with my father on the first day they were open, and a guy in front of us in overalls said "Gimme one of them Wooopers, I guess.) No one corrected him, then it was our turn and we didn't know if it was pronounced whopper or whooper.
Laughed about it many times.
Dennis
20 Jul 09 at 10:42 am
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I remember the Western Sizzlin' on Beltline near Two Notch. I know it was there in the '70s, until the mid to late '80s. It was replaced briefly by a restaurant called "A Touch of Class," which I visited once with my roommate and SO. I opened the door, and . . . Remember the "Otis, my man!" scene in "Animal House." That was us!
badger
20 Jul 09 at 10:57 am
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There was a Cedric's Fish and Chips near that corner at one time back in the 70's. They had a number of stores around Columbia and their home office was off Broad River Road just past I-20. They tried to expand to fast nationwide and eventually went out of business.
Pinckney
20 Jul 09 at 1:39 pm
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Columbia's first Bk was on Two Notch, the 2nd Bk was in Cayce going towards Kmart on the right. The first Hardees was across from the Ft. Jackson Kmart which was the first one also in Columbia. I dont remember A&W on Devine though for some reason..just the one on Belt Line. I do remember Arther Treacher's Fish and Chip's but dont remember where it was...anyone?
Del
20 Jul 09 at 9:03 pm
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The first McDonalds I remember was in West Columbia. The First Pizza Hutt was on North Main near the Pappagallo Shoe store. The first KFC was on Two Notch Rd. AHHHHHHHHHHHH
Remember the Fries and Pink Ladies at the Varsity on Main--across from Sewells. Damn--Old school.Rhea
30 Jul 09 at 8:25 pm
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Remember Gene's Pig and Chick in West Columbia--and that other Drive-in on Main with the DJ booth on top?
Don't remember Arthur Treachers==But the best hot dogs in the world was at the bus station off of Taylor St.Rhea
30 Jul 09 at 8:29 pm
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Rhea - glad to hear someone else is not too young to recall Gene's Pig 'n Chick. We went to the big one in Five Points (it's gas station now).
How about Dairy Bar on Main right behind the State House? They invented the pimento burger long before Rockaway's. Whole building is gone and is a parking lot now.
Dennis
31 Jul 09 at 7:07 am
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Rhea- Doug Broome's was the place on Main Street (the corner of Main and Confederate to be exact) that you are talking about. They used to have live remotes there all the time. Bill Price, USC's writer in residence, worked there and has often written fondly about the place.
Tom
31 Jul 09 at 10:47 am
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Woody Windham wrote a bit about working the live remote from Doug Broome's Drive-In on his blog (Hat tip to Lew)
ted
31 Jul 09 at 2:36 pm
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Looks like they found a tombstone at the McDonald's site!
jamie
4 Aug 09 at 12:50 pm
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The State quoted a guy as saying that the McDonald's was more than 30 years old. That can't be right.
Hal
4 Aug 09 at 6:56 pm
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leave it to columbia to shut down a McD's! haha.
(wouldn't surprise me if they rebuilt in the same spot, but that makes it less funny...)
steve b
7 Aug 09 at 4:09 pm
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lol, this is funny!
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My husband and I were about 21, stationed at Ft. Jackson and loved Pig and Chick in 1970 when he got stationed there. we were from Ft. Lauderdale but really loved Columbia and Jackson. We were back there 9 months ago (9-09) and to our dismay, it was gone. I actually cried. We had so many wonderful memories there.
6 Aug 10 at 6:10 pm
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You know, the only McD that I know of that closed and was torn down for good was on Meeting Street in West Columbia. Had to be a story behind that.
tonkatoy
5 Oct 11 at 12:56 pm
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@Tonkatoy-Didn't they close that one because of the one they built on the corner of Gervais and Huger?
Also two other Columbia McDs were shuttered. Rosewood and Assembly, across from the state Fair grounds and the one in the Cornell Arms on Sumter.Tom
7 Oct 11 at 12:31 am
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Don't know, Tom. I seem to recall a few years passing between one being torn down and the other one being built.
Those other McD's, the buildings are still in use. Rosewood/Assembly as University Motors, and the other as...beats me...haven't been there in a while.
tonkatoy
7 Oct 11 at 6:36 am
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And it looks like we have our first murder already....
http://www.thestate.com/2012/09/16/2444538/mcdonalds-shooting-victim-idd.html
tonkatoy
17 Sep 12 at 7:23 am
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Quick question- Where was the Meeting street McDonalds’s? I lived in West Columbia for a few years in the 1980’s and I faintly recall that location but now that it’s gone I can’t seem to figure out what is there now. I drive down Meeting street almost daily since moving back to area and it’s just something that popped into my mind. So if anyone can help me out I’d appreciate it. Posted this here since there was no dedicated post to the Meeting street McD’s.
Deb
13 Dec 19 at 11:38 am
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506 Meeting Street -- looks like it's a bank now.
ted
13 Dec 19 at 11:59 am
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Thanks Ted. Now that you said it was that bank that sounds right to me. I knew it couldn’t be too much further up than that proximity. I just wasn’t 100% sure in my recollection of that location.
Deb
13 Dec 19 at 12:05 pm
There was a "golden arches" McDonald to the left of the current site (With your back to the Bruger King) in the 1960s. They moved to the current site I think in the 1980s.