Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

I noticed ths closed Chinese buffet in Batesburg-Leesville when I was driving through on US-1 recently. I can't quite place the fast food chain for which the building was originally built, but it looks to have been there a good while. The google reviews suggest this place struggled for a while before closing somewhere around late June 2020.

I don't recall ever eating at a Salsarita's. Moe's has mainly been my go-to for this category, and Qdoba & Chipolte have always disappointed. At any rate, judging by the google reviews, this location closed around March of 2021. It was apparently intended as a temporary thing, but once the signage comes down, I think you can mark it as permaent.

(Hat tip to commenter Gypsie)

UPDATE 30 September 2021 -- As mentioned in the comments to become an Uberrito Fresh Mex:

I have never been to either Alodia's, though from looking at their menu once, I decided if I were ever in the right place at the right time, I would like to try it. The Irmo location is a bit removed from what I generally think of as Irmo: Way out on North Lake in the Publix strip mall.

There have certainly been a lot of staffing shortages on the path out of the pandemic. In fact we found one restaurant in Myrtle Beach we were considering going to that said up-front on their web page to expect poor service! Some of that seems to be at issue here, though I am not sure what the "product shortages" would be. The only one I have heard of is chicken wings, which wouldn't be much of an issue for an Italian restaurant (and which would affect the Lexington branch as well, I would think).

Anyway, they are apparently teed up for a July re-opening here, and I certainly hope that comes to pass.

(Hat tip to commenter Ellen)

UPDATE 31 January 2022 -- Open again:

UPDATE 4 October 2023 -- Closed again:

UPDATE 6 March 2024 -- The storefront is now empty and for lease:

Also updated tags.

As far as I can reall, I have only eaten at Nicky's once, when I was in need of a late-night pizza. I don't remember anything specific about it other than it was fine.

The place has recently announced they will not renew their lease for this location, although the Lexington store will remain open. Asked for further information, they responded Frankly, as you can see at the link..

(Hat tip to commenter Heath)

I was not really aware of The Casual Pint, off of 378 in Lexington, behind The Mellow Mushroom, but commenter Andy reports it was a "fun spot", with "excellent beer selection".

They made it through the pandemic, but as far as I can tell from the google reviews, closed in early May of 2021.

(Hat tip to commenter Andy)

I don't know much about this place, and the pictures were all kind of against the sun and not so great, but Top China Buffet at the top of Saint Andrews Road is closed.

As near as I can tell from the google reviews, this happened sometime in the August 2020 timeframe, so past the start of the pandemic, though that certainly cannot have helped things, especially with a buffet.

As I took these pictures, there were indications that some sort of upfit was ongoing, but I didn't see any indication of what it is to be.

(Hat tip to commenter Mr. Bill)

UPDATE 28 February 2022 -- Now Truth:

Over the years I have eaten more often at the, vanished, franchaised, D's Wings locations than the flagship store in Parkland Plaza. I guess the last time I ate here was probably in 2018 or 2019 -- and it was fine, as usual.

This move, to 415 Meeting Street, has long been in the works, since they found out their lease would not be renewed. This still strikes me as odd, as Parkland Plaza is not exactly overbrimming with stable tenants.

Here is a story from The State about the move, and here is one from ColaDaily.

You can see the new building in the last two pictures, and there is clearly yet some work to be done there in advance of the posited 1 June opening. I have to say I agree with commenter Lone Wolf that parking will be an issue here.

According to commenter Mr. Hat, Lita's Treats dessert bakery, in what's left of the food court at Dutch Square is moving to 800 Lake Murray Boulevard. This is the old Piggly Wiggly shopping center, now home to Stars & Strikes. Interestingly (or not) there was previously a cupcake bakery in that complex.

(Hat tip to commenter Mr. Hat)

UPDATE 22 June 2021 -- Here is the new location:

Ristorante Divino left their location at 803 Gervais Street in mid-2020, to move next door to the Dupre Building at 807 Gervais street (which you can see fully in the last shot). As part of that move, the owners rebranded the restaurant as Di Vino Rosso. WLTX has the here.

It was certainly an audacious time to move a restaurant, but it seems to have worked out.

Pelican's was the follow-on in this building to a number of operations, including San Jose and Tomlinson's Used Furniture. They opened here in in 2016, but have now moved downtown to 442 Meeting Street.

In the meantime, this building seems to have been split into two units, with the righthand side now occupied by a financial services company.