Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

Barnette's Wallcoverings was at the north-east tip of Boozer Shopping Center, and closed some time last year. It's been several months since I first noticed it closed, so it wasn't too near the end of the year, but on the other hand they are in the 2013 phonebook, so it can't have been too near to the start of 2012 either.

It seems to me that 2012 saw a lot of turnover in Boozer, and while they did get some new tenants, I think that there are more vacancies than usual.

UPDATE 8 May 2014 -- It's now Sissy's Furniture:

I noticed before the Holidays that health food store Nutrition Warehouse in Boozer Shopping Center has moved from the south side of the plaza to 1621 Broad River road in main strip on the north side. Apparently in their old location, they had two adjacent storefronts, as you can still see the label-scar on the unit to the right of the one with the very visible sign.

Along with the move, they have added a Contract Post Office, so the loss of Broad River Road UPS Store is now more or less made good. Their second location, on Forest Drive by the new Pasta Fresca location also has a CPO, and I've found it convenient several times despite the fact that it's just a stone's throw from the Trenholm Plaza post office. Every time I've walked in with a package, there's been no line whatsoever.

This small urban wear shop was in a little strip mall on Broad River Road more or less across from Widewater Square. I can't find it in my phonebooks, so I'll just put the closing date at "late 2000s".

Here's yet another cash advance/check cashing operation that's closed up shop. This one is on Broad River Road about midway between Bush River Road and the Food Lion. I think there's a logical construction called a "Tautology" that probably fits here: There's not much money in people who don't have much money.

If you look closely at the awning (click-through), you can see the old State Farm banner and logo labelscar.

Tainos was a Caribbean restaurant in a Broad River Road building perhaps most notable for having been the original Lizard's Thicket. It's certainly been quite a number of things since then, though Tainos seems to have brought lizards back to the building.

The story told by the door notices is rather distressing, though of course it is told from the restaurant's point of view. Certainly it seems to have been a nasty surprise.

(Hat tip to commenter Soxinsc)

This real estate office was almost at the intersection of Broad & Bush River Roads just past Boozer Shopping Center.

As I found taking these pictures, it's a bit of a hard spot to get into and out of, with a pretty steep parking lot (I bottomed-out coming out of there) and lots of traffic to turn across if you're coming from the Graystone side. I suspect the real estate market had more to do with this closing than the parking lot though.

I don't know much about this self-service car wash in between Widewater Square and Nancy's Nook other than it has seen better days (the LoopNet listing marks it as "distressed" and as an "office building").

The interesting thing is that although I must have driven past it dozens if not hundreds of times before, I can honestly say that when I saw it the other day, I had no memory whatsoever of ever having seen it before.

I've never really seen the point of this kind of wash. Just spend the extra $3.00 and drive through one with the foam and buffer.

UPDATE 23 November 2016 -- Someone has rehabilitated this wash, and it is now open again:

I'm not exactly sure when this furniture store at the corner of Broad River Road & Means Avenue closed, but I can tell you that it opened on 16 March 2012.

Unless you're buying a house, new furniture is pretty much a post-ponable expense, and houses aren't exactly selling like hotcakes now either -- I think the furniture business has got to be hurting.

This ladies' shoe store in Boozer Shopping Center apparently set up shop in July of 2011. I'm not sure exactly when it closed, but the storefront was papered over by the time of this 31 May 2012 shot.

This small Indian market was the follow-on operation to Groucho's Deli in this Broad River Road storefront. It started sometime before November 2011 and I'm pretty sure I saw it still open in early September 2012.