Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

According to Wikipedia, which has what seems to be a reasonable summary, Charlotte Russe filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on 4 February 2019, in the event, no rescue was forthcoming, and the chain announced on 7 March 2019 that it would be closing all its stores.

There are two Charlotte Russe stores in the Midlands. This one at Columbia Mall and another at Columbiana Centre. The Columbia Mall store is centrally located on the upper level, in between the old Dillards and Macy's above the mall's center court.

I'm not sure what's going on with the lights dangling down in center court. I guess they could be leftover Christmas lights. At any rate, I'm sure they would be more attractive if they were lit rather than hanging there dark like that.

Well, this happened sooner than I figured, and this store was completely gone by the time I got around to visiting Columbia Mall.

Of course, it appears to have been a failry small store, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. As you can tell if you click through on the mall directory, Payless was on the lower level just two storefronts down from the former Sears. The storefront to the left of it is also vacant, though I'm not sure what it was.

As a reminder, Payless declared bankruptcy on 14 February 2019 and all the chain's stores have closed or will be closing soon.

I did not know this, but Crazy 8 was part of Gymboree, with the second bankruptcy of that chain taking out these stores as well.

According to Wikipedia:

Crazy 8 was started in August 2007. It features lower priced clothing and is Gymboree's direct competitor for The Children's Place and Old Navy.

In the event, I guess that didn't work out too well.

(Hat tip to commenter Sidney)

Well, I would rather not take pictures through the passenger side window just to keep the camera semi-dry, but those are the conditions that prevail lately..

This Bi-Lo is on Emanuel Church Road in West Columbia in a spot where I am fairly sure I have never been before. In fact, I drove out there last week, headed down that branch of Emanuel Chruch Road, decided that things were petering out and turned around and went the other way.

This store is part of the latest round of Bi-Lo & Harveys closings, and presumably will be gone by the end of the month as these closeouts don't usually take too long.

UPDATE 10 May 2021 -- Now open as a Food Lion:

According to The State, today was the last day for Gwen Rawls in Trenholm Plaza. Not being a woman or in need of Italian shoes, I was only vaguely aware of this place, but it is in the same wing of the plaza that 32 Degrees was (though about as far away from Rosso as it is possible to get).

It does seem odd to have three storefronts close fairly close together in time like that, but on the other hand, plaza management continues to bring in new businesses like BLD Diner. We'll have to see what happens.

(Hat tip to commenter Sidney)

Payless filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on 18 February 2019, and will be closing all of its stores, which includes three locations here in the Midlands.

This store is in East Forest Plaza at the intersection of Forest Drive and I-77. I don't have it in these shots, but the Fallas in the same wing of storefronts closed late last year as well. I have put March 2019 as the closing date, but the linked article indicates some stores may last as long as May.

I have never been in this store, but I have bought shoes at Payless several times, and they seemed reasonable in both price and quality.

(Hat tip to commenter Tom)

I was not aware of Things Remembered, but apparently it is a personalized gifts store, with a complicated history with ties to Sears, Pearl Vision & Yankee Candle.

They filed for Chapter 11 on 6 February 2019 "as part of a plan to be acquired by Enesco, a giftware, home décor and accessories company". Here is a Forbes article that explains the problems, and then, oddly, turns into a Shinola commercial.

There is another local Things Remembered in Columbiana Centre, and I am not sure what its status is.

Just for reference, here is the current status of The Village At Sandhill as per their public directories on 18 February 2019:

(Hat tip to commenter Sidney)

The first seven (excellent) pictures here are provided courtesy of commenter Heath.

This Circle K location first stuck in my mind some years ago when I stopped and noticed that the Subway restaurant in the back was clearly built in what was once a automated car wash slot, complete with a guide lane now leading nowhere.

I am a fan of the current round of Circle K rebuilds. The new stores are attractive inside and not at all cramped, plus they have nice bathrooms, which works in their favor on long drives. My cousin was touting Florida's Wa-Wa stores at Thanksgiving, and I think that is the kind of thing the new Circle Ks are targeted at. Of course, some of the older plots won't be large enough to do it.

(Hat tip to lots of folks, possibly commenter Arthur was first. And big thanks to commenter Heath for the pictures!)

UPDATE 17 April 2019 -- Construction is continuing apace:

UPDATE 13 February 2020 -- Open again:

UPDATE 29 March 2023: Updating tags.

Although I go into Dollar General with some frequency, I don't believe I have been in a Family Dollar since 2015. Of course that's mostly because there is a DG in Ravenwood. At any rate, as I recall it, this one on Broad River Road across from the new mini-Wal-Mart was fairly new. I can only speculate that having the Wal-Mart there was not good for it.

After running as a Rite Aid with a Walgreens pharmacy counter for almost a year, this store on the deep corner of Forest Drive & Trenholm Road has finally made the switch to being an official Walgreens location. I'm a bit surprised that it took so long, and also that they slated it in the first place, as it is not that far from the Walgreens on the corner of Forest Drive & Beltline.

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)