Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

I'm not exactly sure what a Greek store would sell. Items branded with the logos of popular fraternities and sororities, I guess. Or it could be actual products from Greece, but I think I would have noticed that.

Anyway, the adjacent Petal Botique at 743 Saluda Avenue will be expanding into this space.

After the Woodhill Automated Post Office closed in January 2010:

Woodhill Storage & Office Centre on the other side of the plaza took up the slack by opening a contract post office.

I noticed while eating lunch at Jimmy John's the other day that several people were getting out of their cars with packages and then getting back in their cars *still* with packages. Checking it out, I found that the USPS marquees have been covered over, and that there are door signs posted to the effect that the contract post office is gone, although the business remains otherwise in full operation.

I would have to google it to be sure, but I think the next closest post office is at Garners Ferry Plaza at the corner of Garners Ferry and Greenlawn.

How can you go under when your product is money? If you look through the Alphabetical Closings, you'll find it's easier than you might think.

While Very's hangs on in this little strip mall on Two Notch near Columbia Mall, very little else does. I believe this suite to the left of Very's may have been a hydroponics store in the fairly recent past, but most recently it was an Internet Sweepstakes operation. I saw enough of them in Florida last year that I finally got curious and checked one out -- As far as gambling goes, it is even more boring than bingo. You pay some money, get a certain number of sweepstakes entries and just hit the button on the machine until all your stake is gone. Apparently here in SC, the memory of the Video Poker era is still strong enough that the powers that be put the quietus on the whole nascent Internet Sweepstakes industry pretty quickly, before most of these places really got into operation.

Of course there's still always Publisher's Clearing House. I think I'm pretty much a shoe-in this time -- I just got a letter informing me that I am guaranteed to be a winner if my entry is selected..

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I have to admit I didn't know there was such a thing as The National Fireplace Institute -- it seems, at least, that all the classrooms should be warm and toasty. At any rate they certified Southeastern Stone,the former tenant of this handsome masonry building on Fernandina Road near the I-26 & Piney Grove interchange. There are some nice pictures on their still extant website as well.

I'm not sure what is going on with the building. It is up for sale, but there is some sort of landscaping work already going on.

For some reason I've never really warmed up to McAlister's. I think that is probably due to the negative synergy of three factors: 1) They don't have booths, and the chairs are not comfortable, and 2) they don't have table service, but 3) you still can't refill your own drink.

Be that as it may, nobody is sitting at this one for a while, as it caught fire early on the 25th.

When I went by, I could definitely smell smoke as I stepped into the patio area. In contrast to a number of other places that have caught fire though, work started on recovery almost immediately, and equipment is already in place to rehabilitate the building. The "closed for renovation" sign suggests that there might be an upfit involved as well, but I tend to think that's just boiler-plate phrasing.

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)

11 September 2012: Updated status to "open again"

UPDATE 3 February 2014 -- Finally here's a picture of the refurbished store in operation:

Well, if all you read is The State, you wouldn't have known until today that Books-A-Million on Harbison is closed.

On the other hand, if you read Columbia Closings you would have found out that from commenter TahoeChic last Tuesday, and would have learned from commenter Larry last Wednesday that it is to become a used book store.

I've always thought this was a bad location for BAM as it pits a second-tier book store directly against the number one book store sitting within sight of it (and in a better plaza). Certainly for myself, I will rarely hit a BAM if Barnes & Noble is an option. It's just a nicer store in almost every way. (Even BAM cafe coffee and cookies are noticably below the B&N standard). That said, I have stoped at this BAM quite a few times over the years. My impression is that it was the *deepest* bookstore I was ever in -- It seemed to take half an hour to walk back to the magazine rack in the rear.

I'm not sure how their 2nd & Charles concept will work out. The story in The State makes it sound a little different from your standard used book store, but it also sounds like more sizzle than steak. I'm not sure there is any way to compete against Amazon in this arena, and I especially can't imagine they would get the kind of profit that would support such a huge floor space. I wish them luck.

These pictures were taken on Sunday 28 April, and as I went to try and get through-the-glass shots, I saw that there were people inside working on the remodel, so they are apparently serious about getting the conversion done quickly. (And in consequence, I did not get those shots).

(Hat tip to commenter TahoeChic)

UPDATE 5 June 2013 -- The place claims it will open this month:

UPDATE 12 July 2013 -- As mentioned in the comments, 2nd & Charles is now open:

UPDATE 3 February 2026: Update tags & add map icon.