Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

One of the very early closings I did on this site way back in January of 2008 was for this location of Tuesday Morning when it closed in Trenholm Plaza. At the time I called the store concept Big Lots by Martha Stewart, and I stand by that. After they left the Trenholm Plaza location, they did not come back immediately, but when La-Z-Boy closed in 2009, they moved into the current building.

Commenter Andrew sends this CNN link indicating that the whole chain is closing down after a second descent into bankruptcy. The article traces the immediate problem back to lost traction during the closings of 2020, but also indicates that the chain had no Internet strategy.

The final sale has started at his location, and has been going on at least a week, so if you want a bargain, you'd best not wait much longer; their Facebook says everything is 40% off.

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)

I guess this isn't too surprising given that the other Wild Wing Cafe locations in the area have already closed (one fairly recently), but combined with the recent Buffalo Wild Wings closing on Two Notch, it makes me wonder if this market segment as a whole is in trouble. I have heard that for restaurants to get wings nowdays it is almost a "market price" situation and a recent google review for this place does comment:

The wings here are TINY. Like half the size of a traditional wing. Maybe smaller honestly. It’s like they killed the chicken just after it hatched.

I can't comment personally about that as since I don't care for chicken I had never visited the place. Still it's always a shame to see a spot close and folks out of work.

Here's today's Facebook announcement, and here is the still extant web site

(Hat tip to commenter Larry)

Anyone know what's going on on South Main Street, between the State House & Blossom Street?

I recall that a while ago there was a study saying that it was too easy to drive and park on this stretch of road and there was a plan to fix that. Are they implementing that, or is this something else entirely?

I did a closing recently for American Car Center, and it seems that another subprime used car dealer down the street closed not too long after they did. WLTX has the story about the Columbia location closing here, and about the chain as a whole here.

The closing was supposed to be temporary, but we are closing in on a month of downtime now when what was promised was two days, so who knows the current state of things? There billboard, which is still active, certainly puts on a show of normal activity, but their website https://www.usautosales.info/about-us now redirects to a site which is strictly about loan payments.

I'm trying to bring to mind what this building was before. It looks like it has always been a dealership, but I'm drawing a blank on the history. Nice color scheme though.

Google lists this place as temporarily closed, but as it is for sale, I think it is gone for good, though the web site is still up. I think it is safe to say this is a story that touches on news events, but I'm not going to comment on any pending issues about which I have no personal knowledge.

(Hat tip to commener John R)

UPDATE 26 April 2024: Now Lakeside Veterinary:

I don't see much information at all online about Flight 302. Judging by what I can find, it was a nightclub/venue near the airport, and judging by the timing of their last Facebook post, closed around two years ago.

You can see a video of a DJ performance at the club here.

According to the permits on the door, the building is currently being remodeled to become a daycare center.

This spot first featured here as Vegetable Medley back in 2018, and commenter Andrew reported in June of 2019 that Oak Grove Fish House was up and running as of that time.

It's certainly a location that needs good word-of-mouth, as it is off of the main drag. The signs on the property paint the closing as temporary, but at this point it's pretty clearly permanent.

(Hat tip to commenter Bobby)

Irmo's Blue Flour Bakery will be closing this Friday after 17 years so that the owner can retire and spend time with family. Although I rarely drive this stretch of Saint Andrews Road and was unaware of them, the story in The State makes me sad I missed out on some very good looking cookies.

Here is the announcement on Instagram, and the bakery's Facebook and web site are here and here.

The last days are this Thursday & Friday, 11 & 12 May from 11am through 1pm.

The closing for the former Main Street location is here.

(Hat tip to commener Mitchh)

It appears to me that Carolina Rides may now be in Orangeburg, while I am not able to find out much about Connection Auto Sales at all.

Before the car operations, this spot was an insurance agency (or two agencies -- I'm not sure if there was an ownership change or just a name change in there somewhere). LoopNet, has an interior picture from those days. It also implies that the agency/agencies may have moved out, though I don't know to where.

This office plaza across the street from Dutch Square has been purchased by either The Midlands Housing Alliance or Transitions Homeless Center depending on which news article you read, but the upshot is that, as Columbia Business Report says, it will be converted into housing for distressed individuals:

WLTX adds something a bit at odds with what I saw when I drove over:

It appeared to me that the front two buildings, at least, still had a good bit of activity.

Construction work is slated to start this month or next and run into the fall.