Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

I did a closing recently for American Car Center, and it seems that another subprime used car dealer down the street closed not too long after they did. WLTX has the story about the Columbia location closing here, and about the chain as a whole here.

The closing was supposed to be temporary, but we are closing in on a month of downtime now when what was promised was two days, so who knows the current state of things? There billboard, which is still active, certainly puts on a show of normal activity, but their website https://www.usautosales.info/about-us now redirects to a site which is strictly about loan payments.

I'm trying to bring to mind what this building was before. It looks like it has always been a dealership, but I'm drawing a blank on the history. Nice color scheme though.

This WLTX article (which is actually mostly about another used car dealer closing) mentions in passing that American Car Center closed in February. The story also calls it a subprime auto dealership, a term I am unfamiliar with, but which doesn't sound like something you would care to be called.

The property is fairly attractive. It's elevated with a nice view, and the buildings still seem to be in good shape. Assuming the economy picks up some, I expect another dealer will move in soon.

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I never heard of Oyo until this one opened up, and frankly from what I saw when I was in the neighborhood, it wouldn't be one of my first choices if I needed to stay somewhere. The Google reviews are.. interesting.

At any rate, it is apparenly no longer an Oyo, though what it actually is is less sure. It is definitely still operating but all of the branding is down, and nothing new has been put up in its place.

UPDATE 14 June 2023 -- Now a Rodeway Inn:

I can't quite remember exactly what was in this storefront (which predates Columbia Mall) when I was growing up, but I think it was some sort of hardware or sporting goods (of the angling type) store. At any rate, Party City has been here for many years now, but the writing was sort of on the wall when they opened a new location at Woodhill in the old Pier 1 spot. They were still open the last time I drove by, but I would not expect them to last into the new year.

(Hat tip to commenter That Guy)

This little Italian Ice shop was in the strip mall which also houses Very's, and was open, I believe, only this summer. I like the window art.

While there are certainly still restaurants in this area of Decker, the relocation of this Chick-fil-A is yet another hit to this intersection.

In the past, we have seen the loss of Applegate's Landing, Zorba's, The Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Rush's, Little China, Sonic & Taco Cid.

This store has now moved to a new building at the former location of Atlantic Bedding & Furniture at 7515 Two Notch.

I believe commenter Haley was the first to report the actual closing, though it had been anticipated and discussed in the comments for a while.

(Hat tips to commenter Haley et al).

UPDATE 10 August 2022: Added a picture I missed before.

UPDATE 1 September 2022 -- Here is the new location in operation:

I noticed while I was driving behind the Food Lion strip mall on Decker the other day that this small car lot in-between the plaza and the U-Haul storage facility was gone. Their website is still extant, and lists this site but their Facebook suggests they have relocated to Ridgeway though it's a bit unclear if this is permanent.

UPDATE 8 November 2022 -- There is major work going on on this building, not sure what for:

Cod Tail (a name, which I've said before, I really do not at all like) was the follow-on in this space to Rush's, which closed in 2019. Cod Tail opened sometime after February 2021, meaning it lasted a bit over a year.

Since I don't like seafood, I never checked the place out, but judging by the sign on the drive-through, they were having issues before they actually shut down. It appears that the Charleston location is still open, or at least the web site still works.

(Hat tip to commenter Haley)

UPDATE 7 June 2024 -- To become Tati's Island Cuisine:

I actually went to this Firestone location once some years ago when I had a slow-leak I needed fixed, and could not get in that day at the place I usually used. I was pleasantly surprised that as a walk-in, I got the whole thing over with in under an hour and was able to get on with my Saturday.

As you can see here, the branding is already down on this store, but the label scars are still clearly visible, and there hasn't been enough time to get the vending machines picked up.

(Hat tip to commenter Haley)

Originally I had thought that this place was undergoing a renovation due to the work going on there, but now I am not sure. Google says the place has been closed for two years (which would put it back to the start of the pandemic) *and* marks it as permanently closed. So I don't know if the work is asbestos abatement before they knock it down, or an upfit for another brand than La Quinta.

Anyway, it's definitely closed though it's odd they haven't taken the sign down.