Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

I was not aware of this little roadside market on Assembly at Ferguson until commenter Matt mentioned that it seemed to be closed. That does in fact seem to be the case as the signage has been taken down, and the inside looks fairly hollowed out. You can see a nice picture of the place in full operation here. Also, the webpage is still up, but seems not to have been updated since March 2013.

I enjoy stopping and poking around in this type of place and am sorry I missed it. Often I manage to convince myself that I actually will use some honey or salsa *this time* and end up buying a couple of jars, though in fact it always ends up in my cabinet for years. Given the move of the State Farmers Market from Bluff Road, I can't think of another such market in the nearby vicinity.

(Hat tip to commenter Matt)

Here's another defunct car wash, this one on US-1 across from the Bi-Lo, and next to Danwood Shopping Center where we have already seen Taqueria Mi Pueblito II.

This one appears a bit smaller than our last car wash.

But not this small.

This little Mexican hole-in-the-wall got mixed reviews on the online sites, but seemed to have something of a following as a more authentic cusine choice than the standard Columbia mini-chains.

The LoopNet listing and indeed the roadside sale sign mention the slot is still a "fully equipped restaurant", and you can still see elements of the prvious decor through the windows. To me this says that a) the equipment was owned, not leased and b) the end came unexpectedly.

UPDATE 15 February 2022: Adding map icon.

I wrote about this building a while ago while it was in the process of becoming It's All Good Grill. As of now, it looks like that operation is on temporary hiatus.

Until commenter James reported this place closed, I had no idea it existed. And it's not closed so much as simply not open -- there's no signage indicating, well, anything.

(Hat tip to commenter James)

UPDATE 29 October 2014 -- there is still no sign on the door or any formal indication that the place is closed, but they have started taking out equipment. For instance, the Touch Tunes console is gone.

I also note that the vines covering the porch wall have loads of fruit on them now, and it almost looks like it should be edible though I have no idea what it is. Can anyone identify it?

Also, based on the comments, I have added Doc's Gumbo Grille to the post title.

It's back to Cherokee Lane today for this little Western Wear shop which lists under two names. I have to say the building looks the part.

It looks like their move was to the old Piggly Wiggly #102 location at the Southwest corner of Saint Andrews Road, just as it kinks to the North.

UPDATE 22 May 2014 -- Here is their new location:

A little googling establishes that this corner suite in Airport Plaza was a pawn shop -- not too surprising given the bars on the windows. For some reason, can't find it in any of my phonebooks, so I don't have a real closing date.

This hotel is down one of those "suicide" Interstate frontage roads like Garner Lane where they use the same on-ramp as the Interstate for frontage access. I don't like 'em.

Anyway, the Cambridge Plaza Hotel there is currently undergoing renovation. It should be back, possibly with increased signage, fairly soon.

UPDATE 4 Jun 2014 -- Commenter Bobby verifies that this place was once a Best Western so I have added that to the post title.

UPDATE 26 June 2014 -- Looks like it's to be a Super 8 when it reopens:

Here's another Pig closing from last year. This one is on the East side of US-1 not too far from the Barnyard flea market. Interestingly, the address is Lexington, though I did not think Lexington started that far South.

Though several recently closed Pigs have become Bi-Los, there is no sign of another tenant for this one yet.

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)

UPDATE 1 March 2016 -- As mentioned in the comments, this is now KJ's IGA:

UPDATE 21 September 2022: Adding map icon. Updating tags.

Well, that didn't last too long.

Spunky's Auto Sales was the follow-on operation to Prestige Hitech Autowerks which moved down the street into the old Dick Dyer bodyshop. They opened sometime last fall (the picture I have is from October 2013) and lasted, I'm thinking, until last month (April 2014).

I continue to like the gull-wing lights at these old service stations. The roofline is nice too.

UPDATE 20 November 2015 -- This place has been extensively remodeled and is to become a gas station:

pix 8 August 2015

pix 16 August 2015

pix 23 August 2015

pix 12 September 2015

pix 18 October 2015

pix 6 November 2015

UPDATE 14 March 2016 -- Almost ready to open as King Fuel. It appears the store only needs to be stocked: