Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

A Fuego was the follow-on operation in this spot to Pizzeria Opa, and opened sometime in the fall of 2021. I never visited, and know nothing about Peurto Rican food, but the place got good reviews.

As far as I know, nothing new has been announced for the spot, but given the setup, I would expect another restaurant at some point.

(Hat tip to commenter Heath for the heads-up and the last three pictures above)

It appears to me that Tha River, follow-on in this building to Pon Di River, has closed. There is no note on the door, but I stopped by on two consecutive weekends to find it not open during prime hours, and the second week, the portable sign advertising specials was gone from the parking lot. It also appeared to me that at least on the left side of the building, there were no tables inside.

I can't find a Facebook, but their web site is still up, and doesn't suggest any issues.

This block of three storefronts on Broad River Road, next to the former Tires & Beyond looks to be completely vacant now. It's interesting to take a look at Google Streetview over the years:

It appears that the A suite (on the far right) was Express Barber Beauty until sometime after August 2019.

Wonderful Grace looked to be moving into that suite around November of 2021, and was gone by September of 2022.

R & R Taxes moved into the B suite sometimes after August 2019, and was already gone by November 2021.

Moya was there in the C suite from at least August 2011 through September 2022, and has since moved down the road to 3106 Broad River Road, and is apparently still there.

This place, abuting the former National Pride Car Wash, was the follow-on operation in this spot to Buy & Save Tire Center. They opened in early 2017, and judging by Google reviews, probably closed around the end of last year. The messaging on the building is that they intend to renovate and re-open. I certainly hope that happens. I am wondering if the construction on the former Car Wash lot is a new building for them -- it looks rather small for that purpose:

I was getting gas at the Murphy's in the old Eckerd site at the corner of Broad & Bush the other day, looking at an accident at the stop light when I noticed that this TitleMax was apparently closed.

I didn't drive over there because the intersection was wholly blocked (which is why, I think, you see people turning around in the lot in the second picture), but the sign was definitely blacked out. LoopNet also lists the building as "For Lease" (and has a nice picture), but I'm getting a bit of a conflicting signal from the store's Facebook page, which still has posts from as late as today. Of course they're pretty generic, so they could be pre-scheduled.

Anyway, I think it's safe enough to do a closing, but next time I drive by I'll try to see what the front door says.

UPDATE 23 March 2023 -- Definitely closed:

This Island restaurant replaced Applebee's in 2020, not a great year to start a restaurant.

As far as I can tell, they were open up until a month or so ago, at which time they closed for renovations. As there is an actual construction dumpster on the property, I trust that is actually happening, in which hope I'm bolstered by the "Now Hiring" sign.

UPDATE 9 May 2023: As it turns out they re-opened as a new business, so I am taking the temporary tag off the post title. The new name is Tha River Sports Bar & Grill:

The last Google review I can find for this place suggests it was closed "7 months ago" (honestly Google, how hard would it be to put a real date on each review?) which would put the closing around July of 2022.

Commenter Gypsie suggests that something is going on there now, and I did see a vehicle parked there, so perhaps something is forthcoming for this building.

(Hat tip to commenter Gypsie)

I never realized until quite recently that the name of this place announced the specialty. Of course roast-beef is not a favorite of mine anyway, and I've never set foot inside one of these stores. This one is between Broad River Road on one side, and Diamond Lane on the other. For most of its existence, it was accessible from both streets, but in recent years, the church which bought Intersection Center has been closing off pass-through access from their side.

I believe all of the restaurants on this stretch have now either closed, or moved on from their original brands.

(Hat tip to commenter Homer)

I was not really aware of this restaurant as I go out that way so seldom. Apparently it was rather new, and started just in time to be hit by the pandemic. It probably didn't help either that a San Jose was just around one corner, and El Charro around the other.

According to their Facebook they do still have a location in Swansea.

(Hat tip to commenter Heath)

I believe the only time I ever visited this bank was to use the ATM some years ago. I had not even noticed that it was closed & razed until commenter Andrew pointed it out. For now you can see the old building in this LoopNet listing. I took these pictures a week or two ago, and the last time I drove by, construction on the lot had started.

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)

UPDATE 26 January 2023 -- Murphy Express is open:

UPDATE 6 March 2023 -- A better picture of the, now open, Murphy's building: