Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

This Olympia spot, sharing a building with liquor & convenience stores, announced late last year that they would have to close if they could not sell the operation. In the event, that did not happen, and The State has the story on the actual closing.

This is one of many spots around town I was never really aware of, but they apparently had quite a wide-ranging menu.

(Hat tip to commenter Mr. Hat)

Here's another place I wasn't really aware of. Judging from the name and the decor, they were going for a retro vibe, which can certainly work for a burger place. This storefront is in the Lexington Square enclave which is anchored by Lowes Food.

(Hat tip to commenter JamesR)

To the best of my memory, I never ate at this Shoney's. Our go-to was always the Two Notch location where I had many a plate of spaghetti and hot-fudge cakes.

The chain struggled after dropping the Big Boy branding, and dug themselves further into a hole with a disasterous side-trip into the hotel business. (Does anyone know if they ever owned any of the nearby Airport Boulevard motels?).

This building is their original 1970s style and has probably been around at least that long. The newer stores such as Manning & Aiken have a completely different look. That store (Aiken) may have actually closed as well, as the Post & Courier story on the closing lists only Myrtle Beach, Sumter, Manning, Hartsville & Florence as the remaining South Carolina locations.

So what next? Mexican, or Asian buffett?

(There seems to be some confusion about exactly when this location closed, but I believe it's a hat tip to commenter george011210.)

I hope everyone has been enjoying their Summer: I know I have!

As the season winds down, I hope to get back to more regular posting.

I was not really aware of this Biscuitville, and in fact have not been to the chain at all, despite having the taste for a sausage biscuit every now and then.

The State says this location opened in March of 2024, so it lasted a bit more than a year. The story didn't give any reason for the closing, but it is located rather close to a Bojangles where biscuits also feature heavily on the menu.

The back yard is rather nice with a good bit of greenspace and their own retention pond, which is more attractive than most with a good stand of reeds or cattails taking advantage of the opportunity.

(Hat tip to commenter Payne)

Tati's, headquartered on Broad River Road, were in the process of rehabilitating the old Dentsville Rush's location, but operations seem to have stalled out. I have not seen any progress on the work there over the last several months, and I have not seen the Tati's food truck parked in the parking lot lately either.

At first it seems like this Fatz is well situated, being highly visible from the Interstate, and right next to Gaffney's most famous landmark, but on further consideration, it is quite a long distance down a frontage road that by the time you get to the Interstate exit, you have half forgotten that you were going to get off. Locating in an outparcel of the Hamrick's right at the exit might have in fact been better. In the event it is all moot since the whole chain shut down as we have discussed before, but perhaps not moot at the time as this location apparently closed well before the others, and the note from management hints at some issues.

The building has obviously attracted unwelcome attention, and may be beyond salvage at this point. I'll have to see how it looks the next time I'm in the area, which most likely won't be for a year or more.

Here is the building in happier times.

Not straying too far from yesterday's post, I noticed that the West Main Lizard's Thicket in Lexington is under renovation, and closed for now. There did definitely appear to be work going on, so I think this one will legit be back, which is not always the case when a place closes to remodel.

I noticed this vacant Sonic last weekend in Lexington.

According to The State, it closed around the end of December 2022 in order for the chain to open a new store nearby at 461 Columbia Avenue, a somewhat larger piece of land.

As of yet, there is no new tenant here though it is listed (with a nice picture of the store in operation).

Ratio, the Peruvian tapas restaurant which is a follow-on in this space to Mangia! Mangia! and Shag Bistro has announced that they will be closing after service on 28 June 2025.

The State has the story here.

They are open Wednesday through Saturday, so you have, I believe, 9 more days to catch them.

(Hat tip to commenter Larry)

Margaret's was on the North side of Garners Ferry out past Mr. Bunky's, and I took these pictures in 2018. It appears from the Yelp reviews (which are pretty positive) that the place probably closed in 2020, and in the event I never got to try it out.