Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

I already did a closing on this building on Meeting Street in West Columbia near Triangle City for when it was Bell's Hamburger Drive-In, but I noticed a while ago that the follow on operation (which was not the immediate follow-on!) Chiva Auto Sales is now gone as well.

That gave me a chance to get some more shots of this place, without all the cars parked outside, and the guy wondering what the heck I was doing sitting inside. However, the place is tightly fenced off now, so I still can't get any close shots through the building windows. It will be a shame if the next owners tear down the building and marquee which absolutely scream of a certain era, but I can't imagine it being suited to much other than used-car office these days..

UPDATE 3 December 2014 -- This building has now been razed. See the pictures at the Bell's Hamburger Drive-In closing.

I don't have a street number and so couldn't find out the name, but this little vacant lot adjoining Sunset Court was a used car operation in the not too distant past, though as you can see, their stock is now rather limited:

I still miss when this Two Notch lot was Dick Dyer Toyota and I could drop my car off and walk home. Since then, they've tried a couple of concepts there. I think at one point it was a scooter store, then they had the Mitsubishi & Suzuki lot. I'm not sure how to characterize what happend to that dealership. The sign says it "moved" to Love Automotive, but I'm guessing a change in franchaise went with that. At any rate it now appears that the Dick Dyer Body Shop will be moving from the bottom corner of the lot into the main building.

About all I can say about AAMCO is that growing up, they had a very memorable radio commercial. Well, perhaps that overstates it, as the commercial per se wasn't all that memorable, but the tagline made up for it. The announcer would advise the listener to bring his car to AAMCO with the hook:

That's Double-Ay-*beep*-*beep*-Em-See-Oh!

That little car horn beep in the middle of the business name would get my attention every time.

When commenter John mentioned that this place might be closed, I went to take some pictures and wasn't sure myself. The lot was certainly for sale, but all the signage and fixtures were still in place, and I thought they might be carrying the business on until they actually had a buyer. In the event that was not the case, and they closed shop sometime in 2012, early on enough that they are not listed in the February 2013 phonebook.

(Hat tip to commenter John)

UPDATE 5 March 2014 --It's now D's Automotive:

Marion Burnside Chrysler Plymouth was a constant breakfast-table presence while I was growing up due to their memorable commercials on WIS Radio. At this remove, it a little cloudy what the exact lyrics to their jingle were, but clearly they spelled out the word "Marion" and drove home the fact that they were at "Seventy Two Oh One on the Sumter Highway!". Here's the way several people recall it (as first seen on the Ads & Jingles page:

Mar-i-on is the name to remember,
7201 on the Sumter High-Way!
M-- "More Service"
A-- "Able to Serve You"
R-- "Real Value"
I-- "something something!"
O--"something something!"
N--"something something!"
Today!

(me)

M A R, I O N,
Marion Burnside Plymouth in Columbia
M for Marion Burnside Plymouth in Columbia
A at 7201 the Sumter Highway
R ready to serve you
I integrity
O opportunity
N now go!

(commenter Dennis)

M- Marion Brunside Chrysler Plymouth in Columbia
A- address 7201 Sumter Highway
R- ready to serve you
I- Integrity
O- Opportunity
N- Now Come

(commenter GB)

It's a bit hard to conceptualize now, but before I-77 and the growth of the metro area, this lot was way out in the boonies, or at least that's how I considered it. It was something we would pass on the way to the beach, and not something I considered as being "in town" at all. In the event, we were a Ford/Mecury family in those days (something 1970s' Mecurys cured us of), so I never actually paid a visit to Marion Burnside, and am a bit hazy as to when it closed. I'm thinking the late 1970s, but I could be wrong.

Jim Hudson moved into the Marion building sometime later, and had been there quite a while by the time they got caught up earlier this month in the general flight to Blythewood that has already taken Dick Dyer Toyota, Lexus of Columbia and a surprising number of other dealerships.

After a long series of days when I could only take pictures as the sun went down, or when the day was completely overcast, I had some hopes for these pictures. In particular, the sidelot with all the little plastic flags strung up was quite photogenic as they glittered in the early afternoon sun. Of course, the instant I got out of the car, the sun went behind the clouds, and I got yet another gray set of pix. The only partial benefit was that shooting against the sun as I had to do for most of these was a little less bad (Less bad, but still *bad*).

(Hat tip to commenter Frank)

UPDATE 2 May 2016 -- It appears that Dick Smith Ford is about ready to open:

Despite the fact that they broadened their business model to full car care many years ago, I still think of Midas as a muffler place. In fact, the last time I needed a muffler, I got it at the Decker store, and as far as I can tell, they did a good job.

This store, on Two Notch near The Village At Sandhill closed sometime late in 2012. I think I noticed it in December, and kept trying to get back out there during full daylight, which I never quite managed.

The sign, Moved to Decker Blvd is a bit disingenuous as the Decker store has been there (at Fashion Place, more or less) for a number of years, so it's more of a consolidation than an actual move.

Enterprise is not one of the car rental firms I've ever used, though their promise to deliver the car to you rather than have you come for the car is appealing. In the event, the one time I needed such a service (stuck in Beaufort with a busted alternator) the local branch was closed on Sunday and I just ended up staying until my car was fixed. Of course I never get a rental car that's a model I would drive by choice, so it was probably just as well.

The phonebook and google say that there are still several other Enterprise locations in town.

(Hat tip to commenter Matt)

UPDATE 19 October 2012 -- As commenter Matt notes in the comments this location has moved to 1307 Assembly Street a few blocks away.

UPDATE 14 November 2012 -- Here is the new Assembly Street location:

UPDATE 5 May 2018 -- At some point the 1436 Taylor Street building was razed:

Here is another closed NAPA store.

While I certainly hope that the employees are able to continue on at 3720 Two Notch Road, calling it a move is not quite right as that store has existed for several years, and was apparently built to replace the O'Neil Court location.

Interestingly, the phonebook (Feb 2012) gives the address for the Hardscrabble store as "1507 Hardscrabble Road", which led me on a merry chase all the way from Wilson, and when 1507 was in the boonies and obviously wrong, across both Farrow and Clemson. I probably wouldn't do *that* again, at least not close to rush hour. In fact this store turns out to be just a few buildings down from the old Santorini Grill and a few up from the former Food Lion and Blockbuster.

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This little auto lot was at the corner of Airport Boulevard and Glenn Street in Cayce. The full name comes from the 2012 phonebook -- as you can see, the roadside sign stops at International Auto Sales.

To me, it looks as though the garage wing of the building might have been added on after the front part was built, leading me to believe this has not always been a car-related spot.

This Calhoun Street building has much more character than modern boxy auto parts stores and I especially like the style of the logo as well. The interior has an old fashioned look too, though I like that less well than the exterior. Judging from the door note, Burns was a family business, and 50 years is a nice long run and well deserved retirement.

(Hat tip to commenter GA Lemons)