Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

Old time hardware stores are a vanishing breed. As a kid, I remember visits to the old Forest Lake Hardware at Forest Lake Shopping Center, the old Hiller downtown, and Hiller in Five Points, and various stores at the beach and in Fernandina. They were mysterious places with big revolving bins of loose nails and odd brackets, and men behind well worn wooden counters who knew how to do stuff.

After Thanksgiving, there will be one less in Columbia, as Cedar Terrace Hardware is packing it in. The State has the story, and it's a case of the owner's well deserved retirement with nobody else willing to take the store on.

To the best of my memory, I have never been to this store. It's quite tucked away in the back of the plaza, and a case of out-of-sight-out-of-mind, but there's always something I need from a hardware store so perhaps I'll take a look before it's too late.

(Hat tip to commenter Sidney)

This storefront in Garners Ferry Crossing was once Springleaf Financial Services, as you can see in the first picture (especially if you click through to the large version). At some point recently, Springleaf was acquired by One Main Financial, at which point it seems they consolidated offices leaving a vacancy here. (Actually there are two adjacent vacancies at this time; I'll do the other one at some point).

I took the first pictures above after commenter Badger mentioned that the place was for sale. I kept meaning to do a follow-up run so I could get some post closing pictures, but somehow could never remember exactly where it was (and had forgotten the name so I couldn't google it). Anyway, I did find it again, and it is definitely closed. I got out of the car and walked around for the post closing shots, and it is interesting that the place appears to be essentially a double-wide trailer, or two single-wides hooked together. I'm not sure exactly how the plumbing on the back wall worked, but from the shots on the unofficial Facebook page, I'm guessing there was an added on back deck where bands set up.

It looks like a quirky little place I would have liked to visit.

(Hat tip to commenter Badger)

Here is another Mattress Firm location already cleared out and debranded (you can barely see the label scar).

In keeping with the general Mattress Firm situation, this one was just 0.8 miles (per Google Maps) from the store at 4732 Devine Street.

So this year I had the theory that I would get to the Fair down Assembly Street. "It's a straight shot", I thought, "No left turns like Rosewood or Shop Road".

And three hours after leaving Forest Acres, I met my party at the Rocket.

If you've been following the blog for a while, you know the kinds of things I like, so the pictures won't be any surprise, but I still like 'em.

The handwriting computer and grey-market videos are still absent, otherwise the mix of exhibits and vendors is about the same as in recent years. I still miss the Steel Building, but the dinosaur park in its space seems popular with the kids.

Somehow, the baby duck slide made it through another year, and Fair Food still rules.

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I never actually ate at Rancho Grande, but I was aware of it as we would drive by on the way to visit relatives, and they mentioned eating there from time to time. I'm pretty sure the building started life as a national brand steakhouse, possibly a Western Sizzling.

Hartsville has urbanized to a surprising extent this millennium, but when this was built, the area was still quite rural and I'm sure the out-of-town location was chosen because it is at the intersection of US-15 Bypass and US-15 Business, something quite important before the Interstates.

The restaurant's Facebook page indicates that it closed around 17 May 2017, though I am unable to explain the wreath on the door which would otherwise indicate a post-Holiday-Season closing. The page also directs patrons to Neuva Villa which is apparently owned by the same family.

Given how many classic arcade games I played in college (Galaga, anyone?), it's a bit odd that I never got into PC or console games. Perhaps it's because I sit in front of a computer all day, perhaps it's just that reading is too much fun and takes too much time. However that all washes out, it means I never visited this Two Notch video game storefront, but I see that you have one more week to stop by and get 50% off.

This storefront is in that faux Tudor little strip of Harbision around the Bower Parkway intersection. Portrait Innovations listed in the 2018 phonebook, so I'm pegging the closing as this year. From what I can see Portrait Innovations is a national photography chain, and there is still apparently a store at Sandhill.

That was pretty quick work. The pictures of the store in operation were taken on 9 October 2018, and by 16 October, the signage is down and the store is empty save for a few mattresses stacked against the front wall -- No closing sale, no bargains, just gone.

This is the second vacancy in the still fairly new Jackson Square (which replaced, most recently, Liquids Gentlemen's Club). Earlier in the year, the adjacent Tijuana Flats closed, and has yet to be replaced.

UPDATE 15 November 2021 -- Now a Club Champion gym:

UPDATE 13 December 2021 -- Here's the other side of the Club Champion:

Well, in a surprise to noone, Sears has declared bankruptcy:

Sears Holdings Corp. filed early Monday for bankruptcy protection from creditors, marking the collapse of a company that dominated American retailing for much of the 20th century.

The retailer, which sought chapter 11 protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in White Plains, N.Y., reached a deal with its lenders that will allow the 125-year-old company to keep hundreds of its stores open for now.

As part of the deal, Sears is expected to close at least 150 stores immediately, according to people familiar with the matter. Currently, the company operates roughly 700 Sears and Kmart stores. It employs about 70,000 people.

Of course Sears has basically already exited the Midlands, but there are still a couple of Kmart stores hanging on in the area.

Anyway, it's a far cry from the days of "As Solid As Sears", and it didn't really have to happen. If Walmart can do it, and Target can do it, that, at the least, proves it's possible. And one of the ironies is that probably about the time Amazon started to spin up, all the people at Sears who knew how to run a catalog operation were retiring..