Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

This little off-brand convenience store has been here for as long as I can remember, though I seem to recall it used to be a bit more open-air. We never stopped there while I was growing up, but out of curiosity, I did stop by once when I started driving. What I recall most (I was a teenager) was a big wall-rack of magazines your mother wouldn't want you to look at. I noticed recently that both this and the adjacent ABC store seemed to be closed, and now there is a realty sign on the property (though the co-located beauty store is still open).

This little building on Sunset in Lexington ceased being a Domino's in January of 2019, and by May of that year, Little Caesars had moved in. Given the mess of 2020, and how many times I have personally ordered carry-out or delivery pizza (which I normally never do), I am surprised that the place has already closed.

Some commenters have pointed out that it is directly next door to a Mellow Mushroom, and that's true, but on the other hand Mellow Mushroom was closed for a long time during the first stage of the crisis, even for takeout.

(Hat tip to commenter ED).

UPDATE 28 April 2025 -- This was my go-to parking location when visiting Mellow Mushroom, so I was sorry to see it go, but the oil change building is coming along;

UPDATE 19 May 2025 -- Looks close to done:

UPDATE 10 July 2025 -- It's done:

Kangaroo was bought out by Circle K several years ago, and in the Midlands, most stores transitioned some time ago.

This one, in Murrells Inlet held on for some reason, though as you can see the gas canopy recently underwent the re-branding. As I was driving by, I noticed the boxed sign out front which would complete the switch, and I expect next time I get down to the area, Kangaroo will have hopped away.

UPDATE 20 August 2020: Add "Reflagged" to the post title to note this is basically a branding change.

Commenter Thomas mentioned that the Taylor Street location of Pope Davis had closed, so I went to take a look, to find that true, and the building empty. It's definitely an interesting, older, location, as you can see from the doors and fixtures in the service area. The company remains in town, and it looks like the next closest location is probably on Assembly Street.

(Hat tip to commenter Thomas)

UPDATE 20 August 2020: Added the first shot, taken from across the street.

UPDATE 19 August 2023: The State says SC may make this a landmark:

Now, state Rep. Seth Rose, D-Richland, is hoping to cement the building as a Columbia landmark and redevelop it. Columbia’s Design, Development Review Commission gave the move initial approval Thursday.

As noted by commenter Andrew and others, Stein Mart filed for Chapter 11 on 12 August 2020 and is expected to close most or all of its 281 stores across the country.

This story focuses on the Trenholm Plaza store, pictured above. A list of all of the announced store closings is here.

To the best of my recollection, I have never been inside this store, at least as Stein Mart. It is hard to say after so many years and upfits, but I believe this is the space once occupied by Tapp's Twig, a "smaller than a branch" storefront run by storied local department store Tapp's. If so, I would have been inside a number of times growing up.

Looking at the store closing list, I see the other local store is in Lexington, and I will try to get by before it is gone. In the meantime, the closing sale is already on, so we'll see if this location lasts into September.

(Hat tip to commenter Andew)

UPDATE 21 September 2021 -- Now a Spirit Haloween:

There are Yelp reviews for 2 Gingers into June of 2020, so this isn't a closure that started with COVID, but of course that may have contributed. It's possible that it's temporary too, but looking inside it appears it would take a good bit of work to re-open.

This building was Chinese stalwart Golden China for many years, then transitioned into Bombay Grill while keeping some of the Chinese decor, at least initially. I'm not sure when it switched to 2 Gingers (in fact I had forgotten all about the Bombay Grill phase), but I ate there several times, and enjoyed it. They had a bit of a different menu than some other places, featuring the pancake-like 'Dosa's. They also would give you the food really, really hot if you said 'hot'.

I like the slogan on their road sign: We Have Taken Indian To The Border Of Darn & Good.

UPDATE 15 August 2020: Commenter mamarose says the closing is announced and temporary for upfits. I have added "Temporary" to the post title.

UPDATE 6 March 2020 -- As mentioned in the comments, this place is open again (and has been for a while):

I noticed driving by the other day that this building was empty.

According to the sign on the door, City Electric Supply has moved to this building on Fontaine Road. The streetview for July 2019 shows them still here, so I'm putting the move date as "2020".

The building looks to have been built as an auto shop, with those garage type bays, but I don't recall what it was originally.

UPDATE 3 September 2020 -- This is the new City Electric location:

I noticed on my recent trip to the beach that this golf store in Litchfield Beach had closed. I'm not a golfer, so I never went inside, but they always had a note on their sign to the effect of "Come see the train", so I was tempted to stop every now and then just to see what it was.

This article from the Sun News says that the owner passed a few years ago and that his wife was continuing to run the store with a daughter, so perhaps she has now retired.

I am a little surprised that this storefront has a Bush River Road address, as it clearly fronts onto Colonial Life Boulevard, and is quite removed from the part of this strip mall which does face Bush River (though that part doesn't have a turn-in from Bush River either). Anyway, that aside, I'm afraid I never visited this Blimpie, and can't recall visiting any Blimpie. I certainly like sandwiches, but to me Dagwood's in Surfside is the gold standard here, and it's more table service than fast food.

(Hat tip to commenter Barbara)

This Walgreen's was originally an Eckerd's and then a Rite Aid, as you can see from the design of the building. It sits on an oddly shapped lot at the intersection of North Main & Colonial, and was the only drug store in the general vicinity.

Here is a story from The State about the closing, and how the neighborhood was very unhappy about it. Here's more from WLTX

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)