Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

My memory is that when this theater opened, it was a Dollar Cinema with every ticket for every show priced at $1.00. In the beginning, I think there were also a large number of video games and pinball machines associated with the operation. I don't seem to have done a closing on it, but at some point that operation went under, and the place came under the Spotlight Banner, still operating as a second-run theater, but with higher (though still very reasonable) prices. The Lexington Chronicle suggests that the transition was about eight and a half years ago, so around 2015.

I do remember going here several times while it was Spotlight, but cannot now recall exactly what titles I saw. At any rate, it was fine, and a much cheaper way to get the full theater experience if you didn't have to see a movie when it was on its first legs.

Movie theaters have certainly had it hard the past several years and we have lost a good number of them in the Midlands. This closure leaves only full price first run houses in the area (not counting Nickelodeon, I suppose).

Here's a bit more from The State.

(Hat tip to commenter Gypsie)

UPDATE 24 January 2024 -- To be Elevation Church:

(RIP Jeffrey Foskett, 11 December 2023)

I remember when this store was on Main Street, and actually did a closing for that location, but kind of forgot about it and lost track after it moved to Capitol Square in West Columbia, though I must have seen it many times in passing as I drove by.

Seventy Five years is one heck of a run.

As I mentioned in the closing for Jin Jin, this plaza is now entirely vacant.

El Salto was the follow-on operation in this location to Dino's. I ate there once earlier this year, and thought it was pretty good, though I didn't put it on regular rotation.

I was driving down Decker the other day and noticed that the main sign was blank and that the place had been re-branded -- I'm not sure if it's a completely new ownership and staff or just a name change. Looking at Google reviews, it appears to have happened a month or two ago.

I believe there is another El Salto on Columbia Northeast Drive in the Big Lots side plaza -- I have not checked to see if that is still there.

Continuing yesterday's barbecue theme..

I don't see any work going on here, but the signs claim they will be back, so I'm marking this closing as "Temporary" and we'll see what happens.

I've only eaten Maurice's at the flagship store once or twice, and it was fine. I've never been to this location, and I have to say it's a bit of a bear to get in and out of. In the event, I decided to go on past and park in the Firefly parking lot.

(Hat tip to commenter Arthur P)

UPDATE 30 August 2024 -- Now Hard Bean Coffee:

Also removed "Temporary" from the post title.

The only time I have eaten at a Dickey's was in Huntsville Alabama some years ago, and as I recall, it was fine. This location sounds to have been a bit different, and I have actually been to this place before to take pictures for a closing, only to find out that they were "just closed for some reason". Looking at the Google reviews, it appears that that was absolutely typical for this place, and they make interesting reading.

This time it appears they are definitely gone for good, but I don't expect the suite to stay vacant for long, as it is a street-visible storefront next to a busy Kroger.

(Hat tip to commenter Trevin)

I was not aware of Jin Jin tucked away here in the struggling Capitol Square shopping center, but they apparently closed on 2 December according to their facebook. As far as I can tell, this closure brings an end to any activity at the plaza. Since their note mentions that their lease was ending, I can't help but wonder if the owners have been getting everybody out in advance of redeveloping the property which abuts an up-and-coming area (with the only negative being the chicken plant when the wind is wrong..). Given that even the plaza's roadside marquee sign has been let to go to pot, I suspect something like that is happening.

The other thing about the property which strikes me, aside from it being all vacant, is the number of payphones, mostly not vandalized (though not currently connected) along the walkway. I mean, I suppose '3' is not a high number historically, but it's the most I've seen in years.

Here is the strip's real-estate brochure, which mentions none of this, but does show a number of former tenants, and the roadside sign.

(Hat tip to commenter Justin)

UPDATE 18 December 2023 -- Here is the plaza sign in happier times circa 2016:

Sol was the follow-on in this space (which was built as a Sam's Corner hotdog place) to the idiosyncratically named Joe Loves Lobster Rolls.

It was a rather upscale Mexican place, the kind where they don't have the items you expect, and you don't get free chips & salsa. In the event, I only ate there once, with my college roommate & his wife after we had taken in an evening at Nights Of A Thousand Candles. The only thing I saw on the menu that appealed to me was the Chile Rellenos, which were fine, but on the whole for that type of concept, I prefer Luna in Murrells Inlet.

One thing I did notice driving by in the years after that, was that the hours of the place were rather unusual, and they tended to take the winter completely off. The Sun News has the story on the closing. The given reason is that the rent in this spot is too high, which seems odd as it is a building which has had trouble holding restaurants, and it is a bit off the beaten path. At any rate, the owner hopes to re-open somewhere on the Grand Strand.

Here's another Chick-Fil-A teardown/rebuild as they continue to pivot to drive-through centric restaurants. This one is in the Wal-Mart plaza at Forest Drive & I-77.

(Hat tip to commenter Larry)

Village Idiot is the follow-on operation in this storefront to Paulie's Pizzeria, which succumbed in 2009 to a kind of "If we have ingredients today, maybe we'll make pizza" syndrome. I never found the space a good sit-down restaurant in that incarnation, and since I never really warmed to Village Idiot in Five Points, I never tried this location.

The chain remains ongoing, but with the sale of this strip-mall, and the end of their lease coming up, they decided not to continue in this location.

The State has the story here, as does the Free Times here. I'll note that The State describes Forest Acres as ritzy, which is not a word I'd ever associated with our little community before.

The closing date is not firmed up yet, but will be by the end of the year.

(Hat tip to commenter Larry)