Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

Zeus Pizza was the follow-on operation to Tony's Pizza in Parkland Plaza, using in fact a good bit of the same signage and interior setup.

As you can see from these pictures, the restaurant was a long narrow space. I think it might have benefited from more window tables, but the one time I ate there, I found it pleasant enough. As I recall, I had the stuffed shells with garlic bread, and it was perfectly fine. At that time, the restaurant had a cloth sign for "Zeus" hung over the "Tony's" lettering, as you can see in commenter Andrew's photos at the Tony's link above. I presume that if they had made it over the initial hump, they would have eventually gotten permanent letters over the marquee.

I'm not exactly sure when they closed -- The April issue of Skirt magazine is still in the inside rack, but that may be bi-monthly. I'm going to say it was probably at the end of May giving them about an 8 or 9 month run.

(Hat tip to commenter badger)

UPDATE 1 August 2012: Zeus is open again. See the comments for details, but here is the website.

UPDATE 4 October 2012: As mentioned in the comments, Zeus is unfortunately closed again:

UPDATE 8 October 2014 -- Monterrey will be moving here from across Knox Abbott when their current building (bought by USC) is torn down:

To the best of my recollection, I had never been in Gaston before, so when commenter Jimmy mentioned that Just Dawgs on US-321 there had closed (he was not a fan), I decided I would go out sometime to take a look.

As it turns out, the place is about 9 miles past the new State Farmers Market on a four lane, divided, stretch of US-321 not too from from a Food Lion and a La Fogata. Gaston, the part of it I saw anyway, seems nice enough. Pretty rural, so you can probably still get a big lot, but with good roads back to I-77/I-26 (or not too bad cross country to US-176/I-26).

Anyway, Just Dawgs was in a little strip with a laundromat, and apparently, in fact, was not *just* dawgs -- it looks like ice cream was an important part of the mix as well.

(Hat tip to commenter Jimmy)

Here's another payday loan operation. This one was almost at the corner of Beltline and Devine, next to the Maurice's location. I don't know exactly when it closed, but since it is still listed in this year's phonebook (February 2012), I am going to say early this year.

As a special added bonus, simply because I like the sign, here is a shot of one of their neighbors:

This little building, across from the Sphinx station and obviously a family home at one time, has been on Decker for many years. I think that in the 1970s it was one of that street's many massage parlors (or "massage" parlors), but I can't verify that without a trip to the library. At any rate, the tailoring shop was there from the mid 2000s at least, until earlier this year, when the touch changed from "magic" to "professional" and it became Pro Touch Tax & Accounting Services.

Commenter Matt mentions that this building at the corner of Forest & Sunnyside Drives, more or less across the street from Zesto, is being remodeled from multiple suites into a single space, and now we can see that it is going to be a Matress Source.

Putting the address into google turns up a number of former tenants.

Since the web site of MBenton Personal Training still lists this address as their gym (ie: hasn't been updated), I suspect they are no longer around. Michael's Cleaners still has a number of locations in Columbia, but I don't know if one of them moved from here or if they are seperate ownership. Posh Pets had several locations, and seems to have moved this one to 3400 Forest Drive. Jackie's Uniforms has moved to Sunnyside. Ashley's Studio is not listed in the current phonebook.

(Hat tip to commenter Matt)

UPDATE 19 December 2022: Updating tags and adding map icon.

This storefront on the Dunkin' Donut side of Boozer Shopping Center apparently came and went pretty quickly. It is listed in the February 2012 phonebook, but not the February 2011 one.

I like the (improbably long necked) logo.

I don't know anything about Varns Drug Store other than it was listed in Walsh's Columbia South Carolina City Directory for 1907-08, had "E H Varn" listed as the proprietor and is not there now.

Thai On Gervais was obviously many iterations after Varns. I know they listed in the phonebook from (at least) February 2007 through February 2011, but not in Feburary 2012. Given that, and the current state of the space, I think they must have closed sometime in 2011.

Traffic was heavy enough that I could not step into Gervais Street to get a good frontal shot of this place, but you can see from the sidewalk and side views that it has sort of a "work is being done" look. I did not see any permits or indications as to what is next here however.

UPDATE 11 June 2012: Commenter Larry casts doubt on this actually being Thai On Gervais, at least within the time period suggested by the phonebook. I will try to check the city directories next time I am at the library, but for now I am leaving it. (Varn's I am more confident about).

UPDATE 20 June 2012: After consulting city directories at the RCPL, I can say that from (at least) 1960 through 1970, this space (actually 926-930) was Safran's Antique Galleries. After that, it was apparently vacant for a good while. In 1995, it was listed as Arcade Auction (Charlton Hall Overflow) and from 1995 to (at least) 2000, it was I. Pickney Simons Gallery. That seems to have been the last tenant. No city directory lists Thai On Gervais, but that is definitely in phonebooks..

Well, here's another Fred's closing, this one on the other side of town from the Sunset Boulevard store. Notice how both stores have a big roadside sandwich board saying "This Location Only!". I did not see any "X Days Left" sign, so I'm not sure how much longer this store will be open.

The Fred's strip mall, Fashion Place, at the corner of Decker Boulevard and Trenholm Road Extension is no stranger to closings, having shown up here for Cici's Pizza, Gabby's Pizza, Phar-Mor, Superpetz, and The Italian Oven.

UPDATE 12 July 2012 -- Gone! Don't know what the duct-work issue is..

Cerino's was one of those places that opened and closed while I was living out of town. It was also located in such an odd place (a historic house well away form any other restaurants or retail) that I would always forget about it. I remember that I would be in town for the weekend, be driving around, see the place and think Oh yeah, I completely forgot about that -- I'll have to try it some time, and then promptly forgot it again.

I'm not sure when the place closed, I know it's listed in the Feburary 1997 phonebook, but not in the February 2008 one. Currently the building is a law office.

(Hat tips to commenters Robert Sproul & badger)

Now all the voices were fading, each on his own trajectory, some to Mars, others into farthest space. And Hollis himself… He looked down. He, of all the others, was going back to Earth alone.

“So long.”

“Take it easy.”

“So long, Hollis.” That was Applegate.

The many good-bys. The short farewells. And now the great loose brain was disintegrating. The components of the brain which had worked so beautifully and efficiently in the skull case of the rocket ship firing through space were dying one by one; the meaning of their life together was falling apart. And as a body dies when the brain ceases functioning, so the spirit of the ship and their long time together and what they meant to one another was dying. Applegate was now no more than a finger blown from the parent body, no longer to be despised and worked against. The brain was exploded, and the senseless, useless fragments of it were far scattered. The voices faded and now all of space was silent. Hollis was alone, falling.

They were all alone. Their voices had died like echoes of the words of God spoken and vibrating in the starred deep. There went the captain to the Moon; there Stone with the meteor swarm; there Stimson; there Applegate toward Pluto; there Smith and Turner and Underwood and all the rest, the shards of the kaleidoscope that had formed a thinking pattern for so long, hurled apart.

And I? thought Hollis. What can I do? Is there anything I can do now to make up for a terrible and empty life? If only I could do one good thing to make up for the meanness I collected all these years and didn’t even know was in me! But there’s no one here but myself, and how can you do good all alone? You can’t. Tomorrow night I’ll hit Earth s atmosphere.

I’ll burn, he thought, and be scattered in ashes all over the continental lands. I’ll be put to use. Just a little bit, but ashes are ashes and they’ll add to the land.

He fell swiftly, like a bullet, like a pebble, like an iron weight, objective, objective all of the time now, not sad or happy or anything, but only wishing he could do a good thing now that everything was gone, a good thing for just himself to know about.

When I hit the atmosphere, I’ll burn like a meteor.

“I wonder,” he said, “if anyone’ll see me?”

The small boy on the country road looked up and screamed. “Look, Mom, look! A falling star!”

The blazing white star fell down the sky of dusk in Illinois. “Make a wish,” said his mother. “Make a wish.”

Needless to say, his was not a "terrible and empty life".