Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

Soul food purveyors Kiki's Chicken & Waffles have left their old, cramped, digs in Fortune Square, and have moved into the old Sticky Fingers location at Columbia Mall.

Judging from the parking lot Sunday 6 March, they will have no trouble filling the larger building..

I have noticed this little strip on Decker driving by over the years, mostly because of Piper's Hair Care uwhich I never could quite figure out if it were closed or not. (It was). Now the whole place is empty and for let.

It's certainly not the worst looking real estate on the corridor.

UPDATE 17 June 2021 -- This place has now been gutted:

Also adding map icon.

UPDATE 15 September 2021 -- remodeling continues:

UPDATE 30 September 2022 -- Apparently after the rebuild, this will be newly branded as Plaza Del Sol, and and insurance agency is already slated to feature:

They don't work so well once they've been under water..

I'll also note that most of the parking lot at this old Captain's Kitchen location has now been torn up, I suppose for the greening of the former restaurant space.

And, we have a new cell tower:

Divine Consign in the The Shops Of O'Neil Court is yet another casualty of the great 4 October Flood of 2015.

They opened in the old Capital City Consignments / Roundabouts Consignments slot sometime in 2012, and lasted until they were washed out.

From their Facebook page it does not appear they have relocated to anyplace else.

Feel Goods, in the old Taco Bell and Nick's location on Decker, is an interesting case of a flood closing.

This building is raised a good bit above the old Captain's Kitchen location where Decker washed through during the 6 October 2015 flood, and I don't believe there was water in the building. However, it was nonetheless on a section of road that was closed for several weeks, and that loss of access and business was apparently enough to tip the scales, at least for now. Hopefully they will be back, but there is no signage indicating anything one way or the other.

UPDATE 9 February 2016 -- It's official now, the building is up for sale:

For many years this was Decker Billiard Club. It closed briefly and re-opened, probably unintentionally, as Decker Billaid.

I drove by recently and noticed the place is now a latin club called Serena Lounge.

This is the only store I have ever been lost in.

It was probably about 1965 when my mother took me here to do some clothes shopping. Now of course the clothes displays are shorter than almost all adults, but taller than almost all four years olds, and at some point I lost track of her among the racks and panicked, racing around the floor trying to find her. Since I didn't spend the rest of my life in the clothes department, I must have located her at some point, but *that* part of the debacle I can't remember..

This store was a regular stop for us throughout the 60s and 70s. We preferred the store brand jarred roasted peanuts to Planters and in those days when Sears was still in Five Points and Dutch Square was the only mall this store was always the closest place to pick up whatever odds and ends we needed. I brought my first record album here, which I still have, the Beach Boys two record compilation set Endless Summer for which I paid $5.25. Here I also bought the Focal brand camera tripod which I still carry in my trunk today.

After I left town in 1985, I rarely visited this Kmart and I remember noting when I came back to town in the early 2000s how threadbare it looked. Since it was still close, I did visit it every now and then, but invariably noted that whatever I had gone in for, they didn't have it, and gradually stopped trying.

(Hat tip to commenter joelc)

UPDATE 30 January 2016 -- As noted by a number of people, the store is now closed:

UPDATE 7 October 2019: Add map icon.

Hopefully I can add some commentary tomorrow, but for now I just want to get these pictures out there.

UPDATE 16 October 2015: Ok, I was under the weather for a few days, but let me add a little text here now.

First, I am happy to say that even as these pictures were taken, on Sunday 11 October 2015, recovery work was in full stride. All the flooded and gutted buildings on Forest Drive had evidence that of ongoing work and cleanup, and I noticed today (15 October 2015) that the Garden Center in Forest Lake Shopping Center was once again stocked and open for business.

Read the rest of this entry »

I was driving Two Notch this evening, and noticed that the Sansbury Eye Center by FedEx Office was closed. A closer look at the door revealed that this office has moved to 2313 Beltline, next to the Subway.

In fact, I had noticed the new sign for Sansbury on that building, but since I did not realize it was a move and not a new office, I didn't bother to take any pictures. I'll get a few next time I drive by. I was struck by how big this Two Notch space is -- I don't think the Beltline location is anywhere near as extensive.

Well, you may best remember this spot as Red Wing Rollerway:

but whatever follow-on operation KNC Trading did, they're not doing it any more.

The vans pulled up in late August, and now, as of 8 September, the building is empty and has once more been sold:

UPDATE 12 June 2018 -- This place is now a latin church, Centro Cristiano:

UPDATE 10 August 2022: Adding map icon.