Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

Some time ago, I did a closing for a vacant diner/gas-station on East Palmetto Street heading east out of Florence. Here's another one.

In fact Ms Annie's was closer to Florence than INS was. I think the reasons I hadn't noticed it before were twofold. First, if I'm going to go to the beach by this route, I usually take the cut-off from the I-95 exit that comes out by the Dunkin' Donuts which is past this stretch of US-76/East Palmetto. Second, more often than not, I would be driving by during the night even if I skipped the short-cut.

Anyway, I can't find out much about the place. The address comes from an online menu site, but the menu has been taken down, so I can't say what they served other than it was "Home Cooking", and the shattered window signage emphasizes breakfast. I'm just guessing about the closing date -- it certainly appears to have been several years ago.

I did find the historical marker quite interesting and a bit scary.

Be warned that the place has been heavily tagged by folks with foul mouths and strong political views as you can see if you continue to the rest of the pictures.

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I noticed the other day that this old McDonald's at the corner of Assembly & Rosewood across from the Fairgrounds is vacant. The last tenant was University Motor Company, which apparently moved in sometime around 2010, and in 2018 merged with Bluff Road Auto Sales with the combined operation at 1400 Bluff Road.

UPDATE 3 February 2023 -- Now Lyon's General Store:

When I went out to get pictures of the new PK BBQ location, and of the old Bi-Lo, I drove by Goodfellas on the way. I did not realize at the time that they had just recently moved to 630 Hwy 378 and had previously been in the current PK BBQ storefront. Judging by google reviews, the move took place some time around May of 2020 and when I went back to get these pictures, it appeared they are doing quite a good business in the new location.

(Hat tip to commenter Andy)

While I was checking out Bi-Lo, I noticed that this Hibachi storefront in the same plaza was vacant. I can't find out much about it -- there is only one Yelp review, but I'm going to guess it was another COVID-19 casualty.

I have been holding off doing a post on Deno's because it wasn't clear exactly what their status is; however, at this point they are clearly closed for a long-term, if not forever, despite the fact that there is no real-estate sign, and all of the furnishings and equipment are still in the building.

Somehow I had it in my head that Deno's was a seafood restaurant, and so never went. Looking online now, I think I clearly would have liked the place. The last review I see on their Facebook page (which has not updated since 2014) is from February of 2020, so I think clearly COVID-19 was an issue here, and the roadside sign does mention that they were open for takeout for some time into the pandemic.

(Hat tip to commenter Barbara)

UPDATE 17 August 2021 -- The sign has been patched, but not re-logoed:

UPDATE 15 November 2023: Update tags.

When I was getting pictures for Books A Million I noticed that the J Peters building was vacant as well. I figured they had gone under during the great plague of 2020, but a little research established that, in fact, they have moved to a better waterfront location on the Marsh Walk in Murrells Inlet.

This building was originally an Applebee’s, and I ate there a number of times, though I was more likely to go to the adjacent T.G.I. Friday's. Applebee's have had their own trouble over the past few years and have closed a number of locations. This one apparently went under in August 2017. Here is a 2017 Sun News story about the closing of Applebee's and the opening of J Peters. I can't find a story on the move to the waterfront, but based on reviews, I would say it was about August of 2020.

In the meantime, this is one more vacancy in the Inlet Square vicinity.

There was a question on Have Your Say recently as to whether the Chinese buffet in Crossroads Commons (down from the former Bi-Lo) was still open or not.

It's not. As far as I can tell from Yelp, it closed in early 2020. I'm guessing that COVID-19 played a role, but the reviews had been trending downwards for a while.

I don't seem to have a picture of it, but there is one here as part of the LoopNet listing.

I noticed this evening that PK BBQ, the follow-on in this convenience store endcap to Kotas was gone.

A little google-work reveals that they have moved to the new Piggly Wiggly complex at 760 Highway 378. I have been meaning to get out there, as I believe that is another former Bi-Lo that I haven't yet done a closing for.

UPDATE 22 February 2021 -- Here is the new location:

I read recently that Richland County had totally dropped the ball on redevelopment of Columbia Mall, and had no idea what they were going to do, despite already buying all the anchor locations. Certainly on a brief partial walk through last Sunday, many shops were shut during regular mall hours, and the number of vacant spaces continues to grow. Stocking even looked a bit sparse in Macy's.

When I visited the food court, it appeared to me that only one vendor, Cynthia's Soul Food, was actually open at the time, though I think at least two other storefronts looked to still be populated and would probably be open on weekdays. I don't know anything about Sarku Japan, but google suggests that there is still one at Columbiana Mall.

I think the King Pizza sign can come down now..

(Hat tip to commenter Sidney)

Here is another downtown place I was unaware of. Their still somewhat working web site says the place opened in 1981, so that's a nice long run. I'm unsure exactly when they closed, but I can't find any review newer than about a year old, so I am guessing that they probably closed during the early stages of the 2020 COVID-19 infestation.

I think they also had a second location in Jefferson Square.

These pictures come from Alan LEBON, so big thanks to him for that, and for commenter Justin for the heads-up.

(Hat tips to Alan LEBON & commenter Justin)