Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

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Commenter south mauldin asks whether The Southern Skillet on Sunset Boulevard in West Columbia is closed.

I'm afraid the answer is: Yes. However, it appears that the owner, or perhaps the cook, has set up a new business in Cayce as described here and here, so all is not lost.

Here's yet another Payday loan storefront that is no longer with us. This one is in the Bi-Lo/Staples plaza at the confluence of Devine, Cross Hill and Fort Jackson Boulevard. (Curiously, this strip mall does not seem to have a name, or at least not one on its marquee.)

Not that this closing leaves the place without a loan operation -- this is where Capitol Loan Office moved to from Main Street. And also note that if you lease this space, you apparently get a free MoneyGram neon sign, which is kind of nifty.

Garden Place Plaza is the strip mall at the south west corner of Two Notch Road and O'Neil Court, and has featured here at least twice before as both end anchors (Floor It Now & Beds Plus) closed.

Now computer store PC Corner (which was *not* in a corner spot.. ) has joined them, and fairly recently I think, as it was listed in this year's (February 2012) phonebook.

UPDATE 13 May 2012 -- Commenter Terry sends in this 1994 receipt for a top-of-the-line PC Corner system. Hey Terry, I think you can let that receipt go now -- I'm pretty sure the warranty has expired!

Sportings goods store Todd & Moore has been a fixture on O'Neil Court for seemingly as long as I can remember. It's not a place I've ever been in because, well, to say I'm not sports oriented is perhaps to understate the matter, but believe my mother got the one tennis racket I ever owned (wooden, with a wooden press) from here, or from some Todd & Moore location at any rate.

Here is the original State article announcing the protracted closing of the O'Neil Court store, which started in January, as seen in the first couple of pictures below (taken on a rainy night) and finished up in late March.

Yes, there are too many pictures -- I'm a sucker for clouds. Also notice that the New Balance marquee got taken down at some point.

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I was driving down Millwood the other day and noticed that most of this strip mall at the corner of Millwood and Woodrow is vacant. The place doesn't appear to have an overall name, but I like the old-style A&P steeple in the middle.

Virginia's Grille (or "Grill" in the phonebooks listings) looks to have been a walk-up Edna's type operation on Monticello Road, just north of I-20 (and near the Amoco Food Mart). Commenter tonkatoy indicated that he recalled a The State article on the place, but like him, I am unable to find anything in the online archives.

Interestingly, the property is currenly being offered for rent as retail rather than restaurant space.

I was never entirely sure whether this store in a corner of Trenholm Plaza next to the old Radio Shack location was LA Bag Lady as in Los Angeles or La Bag Lady as in kind of French. Their site uses the "La" capitalization, but goes on to namecheck L.A., so I'm still not entirely sure. At any rate, it was never a matter of prime importance to me as handbags are way down on the list of things I pay attention to.

Interestingly, all the phonebooks I have access to at home list only the Sandhill location for the shop, but this one definitely existed until very recently, as you can see in the picture at the top of Eden's Trenholm Plaza site page.

(Hat tip to commenter mamarose)

UPDATE 9 May 2012 -- Here are some pictures I dug up from Trenholm Plaza's redevelopment back in 2008. They are from 2 July and 5 September of that year:

This Calhoun Street building has much more character than modern boxy auto parts stores and I especially like the style of the logo as well. The interior has an old fashioned look too, though I like that less well than the exterior. Judging from the door note, Burns was a family business, and 50 years is a nice long run and well deserved retirement.

(Hat tip to commenter GA Lemons)

I have to admit I wasn't aware of Creative Kids in Five Points until I heard it was closing, despite having bought a good number of toys the past several years. It looks to have been an interesting place (though that big guy up front is a little scary :-)

(Hat tip to commenter Mike D)