Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

I can honestly say I had never been on Barr Road before in my life -- this site has certainly taken me places. Commenter Andy mentions that this Jet Fuel convenience store in Lexington has recently closed and cites a protracted local battle over the place due to its plans to sell alcohol. Well, driving up from US-1, I can certainly say this is a well-churched area, so I guess that's not too surprising.

The place finally did open, obviously, but commenter Andy says it had gone downhill lately.

The State had a story on the controversy back in 2015

(Hat tip to commenter Andy)

It seems to me I have blogged an unusual number of Hardee's closings recently. I'm not sure if that says anything or if it's just coincidence or local conditions, but here's another.

This store is on Parklane, basically in a Columbia Mall outparcel, and not too far down from the local McDonald's. I'm not sure how long it was in this location, but it's been at least since the mid-90s. I do like this google review for the place:

Once got a burger that looked just as good in the ads.

That *shouldn't* be high praise, and yet..

Are there any Red Burrito locations of Hardee's left in Columbia?

(Hat tip to commenter Sidney)

UPDATE 19 June 2021: Adding tags.

Mickey's was on that section of Bush River Road (discontiguous from the main segment, and sometimes called Old Bush River Road) that connects Saint Andrews Road with the Lake Murray Dam in Lexington. I don't know much about the place other than juding by reviews, it closed some time in mid-2019. LoopNet (which has some nice sunny pictures) says the building was put up in 1980 and still has fully functioning lifts. Perhaps that's why the asking price seems rather high.

This was where I had my last Sandy dog, some time in the summer of 2019. It was good, and I remember thinking I should do that more often, but in the event never did.

Casa Linda in Forest Acres is one of my go-to places, but I don't think I've ever eaten at any of the other locations. I have eaten in this *building*, back when it was a D's Wings. Casa Linda set up shop there probably around 2013, and lasted until the end of 2019.

Actually commenter Heath mentions that this closing was more like a tidy ownership change, with El Patron quickly setting up there after year's end.

I'll note that the plaza marquee still touts the comics shop that closed in 2017.

This place started as plain Planet Pizza sometime in 2017 from what I can glean online. Around June of 2019, it was bought by King's Pizza, which was at the time in the midst of a planned build-out, though only this store and the one on Forest Drive were ever actually open. I took the vacancy pictures in early October 2019, so I'm saying it probably closed in September of that year. (The picture of it open was taken in mid-September 2019). The reviews for either incarnation are mostly so-so, but I'm guessing that King's seeming over-extension was the proximate cause here.

I never ate at this Sub Station II. In fact I've only eaten at the chain twice that I can recall. I find that Jimmy Johns is my go-to sub place these days (unless I'm on the coast when it is Dagwood's). I'm not sure exactly when this place closed. They did post a new picture on their Facebook page on 10 December 2019, and a commenter there notes that as of 9 January 2020 they were closed, so I'm going with "December 2019.

What I find kind of ironic is that I have been notified at least three times that neighboring WG's Chicken Wings is closed, and each time I drive out there, I find it chugging along just fine..

(Hat tip to commenter Robert)

UPDATE 31 March 2022: Updating tags.

As I have mentioned before, my mother, who had a taste for the odd & exotic, used to stop in at Pier 1 from time to time while I was growing up. Since that time, I believe I have only been in a Pier 1 once, and I have never been in this Harbison location.

This store is in an outbuilding by the Outback wing of the Harbison Court shopping center, which I used to visit fairly frequently for Barnes & Noble.

The State has the story on the closing, mentioning that the retailer is closing about half of its 900+ stores. So, say, that's more than 400 locations, which is a pretty whopping number. The retail apocalypse continues..

(Hat tip to commenter JCB)

UPDATE 30 June 2020: Update tags

UPDATE 22 November 2021 -- Now a Popshelf:

This attractive stone-accented building up the hill from Columbiana Drive on Lake Murray Boulevard has featured here several times. First it was Atlanta Bread, which closed in May 2008, and then re-opened around September 2011, finally closing again in May of 2014. Next it was Urban Cookhouse, which closed in October 2018.

Seafood Connection, which was a second location for a Charlotte restaurant, opened here in August 2019. The State had the story celebrating the "Lowcountry boil", and "secret spice". They also had the story on the closing, putting in in context with a number of seafood openings, but with no details on the reasons.

I don't see any obvious reason why this spot is not a good one for a restaurant, but history seems to suggest it is not. We'll see what goes in next.

(Hat tip to commenter Mr. Hat)

UPDATE 22 June 2021 -- To become an El Jimador Mexican restaurant:

“Our business is doing extremely well, so it’s a funny time to be getting out of the business,” Sanderson says. “I’m starting to work on my 80th birthday and it’s beyond retirement time.”

I suppose I'll be featuring all the former Sandy's locations here before too long. This is one I actually ate at at least once, and probably a few more times after shopping expeditions to Dutch Square. This store is part of the row of restaurants and other businesses that fronts on Broad River Road and backs on (or has access to) Diamond Lane in the former Intersection Center. I see now that (presumably) the church which bought all the back property has put gates cutting off through access to Diamond Lane, which I can understand -- it was kind of an odd setup.

The State has more details on Sandy's history and closing.

UPDATE 4 February 2021 -- As mentioned in the comments, this building is to become Asian Express:

UPDATE 24 June 2021 -- The Asian Express appears poised to open:

UPDATE 13 March 2023 -- Asian Express is open, and has been for a good while: