Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

Dems on Lake Murray Boulevard is closing on the retirement of the owners.

According to ColaDaily, they have been in business for 54 years, and that's certainly a very good run. The owners also state they are open to the building continuing as a jewelers with another name and owners, but apparently there is nothing definite on tap.

I remember the place as Dems House Of Diamonds from radio ads growing up, and they were still operating under that name in their Boozer Shopping Center storefront. They moved from that location to the current one in 2004.

There is no definite closing date as it all depends on the inventory, but the ColaDaily piece suggests the closing sale could last into April.

(Hat tip to commenter JohnR)

UPDATE 15 November 2024 -- Now Carolina Fine Jewelry:

Koffee Koala was the follow-on in this Cayce Crossing suite to another animal themed coffee bar The Lazy LLama, which closed in 2021.

According to their Facebook, while 3 February was their last day as a storefront after being unable to renegotiate the lease, they continue doing a delivery business through their website.

(Hat tip to commenter Robin)

Granby Grill was the follow-on operation in this storefront to White Duck Taco Shop. It wasn't really on my radar because of the location, but judging by their Facebook, which took a very good-natured approach to their closing, as well as tweaking The State for only noticing them at that point, the owners seem to have a lively sense of humor. In fact, they namechecked me in their opening announcement on the White Duck closing post, and I certainly take no pleasure in closing that loop.

The Facebook entries go on past the closing date, and it appears they were working on other concepts for the place, first burgers and then perhaps biscuits. I'm not sure if either of those will happen, but the biscuit nameplate is up, and the door was unlocked and ajar when I dropped by to get these shots, so we will see what happens.

(Hat tip to commenter Logan)

Google Streetview suggests that Long's Drugs was here until probably sometime in 2020, being definitely gone by April 2021. It appears that Rise moved in in 2022, and was left sometime after October 2023. Judging from the web, they moved to 1727 Harden Street after that, and this building is currently vacant. You can see the LoopNet information here.

I can't really say anthing about this Decker Boulevard barber shop, but commenter Sidney says it had been there for quite a while, and it's always a shame when an oldstyle barber closes.

(Hat tip to commenter Sidney)

I have always had good experiences with Goodyear service centers, though I never went to this one, on Saint Andrews Road between Piney Grove Road and the industrial plant. Their sign says they are moving to 141 Harbison, but as commenter Andrew points out, that is an existing location, so it is more like a consolidation. Given the ongoing shortage of service technicians, hopefully everybody was able to stay on. There are a number of other garages in the area, so it remains to be seen what will happen at this building in the future.

(Hat tip to commenter Gypsie)

UPDATE 10 February 2025 -- As mentioned in the comments, this is now taken on by the next door Seven Oaks Plant Shop:

This Red Roof Inn was kind of at the corner of Berryhill Road, Saint Andrews Road and I-26. Technically the old Steak & Ale is more exactly at the corner, but anyway it was convienient to all of those.

I don't know if this closure is due to the ongoing I-26 roadwork, but that did take down the adjacent nightclub building at 14 Berryhill Road.

I have seen a number of motels torn down now, and it seems at some point, you're always going to see a lot of mattresses about, but I think this is the first time I've seen that many toilets.

(Hat tip to commenter Arthur P)

UPDATE 24 May 2024 -- Gone!

As far as I can tell this former Harbison Hess store is notable only for having a $300,000 lottery winner in 2021. I am pretty sure I never stopped there, and couldn't even remember where the place was the first time I went out to get some pictures. I know a number of local Speedway stores have closed recently, but if I had to guess, I would say in this case there was a specific plan for the property rather than the company having issues, or at least that's my assumption as the property is already fenced with demolition having started, I would not expect this spot to stay vacant for long.

(Hat tip to commenter Gypsie)

As I was driving up from Henry's the other week, I passed this building, which has featured here before as Mote's Store, Frink Street Tavern & Frink Street Pub, and noticed that it looked to have been set up as a distillery, and to now be vacant.

A little googling established that it was Southern Essence Distilling, established in 2018 & operating alongside an art studio, and that during the pandemic, they stepped up with a hand sanitizer production and donation operation. You can read about that here on WLTX. I'm unclear if they were able to re-open for normal business after the pandemic, and I don't see any articles on that, or on the place closing.

One notable feature of the place (now gone) was apparently a large wire sculpture of a Star Wars Imperial Walker. You can see a picture of that here and watch a story about it here.

Here is an archived copy of their web page.

Henry's (part of a local chain) sat at the corner of State & Frink streets in Cayce, in the building which hosted a number of former restaurants, including B & B Corner Bar & Grill and 2108 Bar & Grill.

According to stories in The State & Coladaily & on WLTX, the state's liquor liability insurance regulations were a big factor in the closure. However commenter Tom points to this WIS article which may point to specific reasons their insurance might be in question.

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)