Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

I am reasonably certain that this old building on Frink Street in Cayce was a non-retail business at some time (though it may have started life as a small residence), but can find out nothing about it. Usually a google of a street address will bring up some sort of tax assessment or tax info, old references to departed businesses or some sort of "For Sale" listing, but none of that seems to be the case here.

UPDATE 22 February 2012: Changed post title from "Building" to "Barber Shop" based on the comments. Also changed closing date from 1970s to "Early 2000s"

UPDATE 29 March 2012: Added "Creamer's" to the barber shop name based on a comment from Mr. Creamer's grandson.

UPDATE 25 November 2012 -- Looks like work is going on here, or at least the next door neighboor's fence is now in front of the property.

The first time I went to Tandoori Grill I recognized one of the staff from the Broad River Road location of Delhi Palace (or I should say he recognized me), and the food was quite good. I went there probably four or five times and it continued good, then I went there a final time, and I didn't think it was good at all, and I don't think the original guy was there anymore.

I was recently passing by during hours when the place should have been open, and noticed the sign wasn't on, so I turned in to check it out. The sign on the door is a bit unclear, but I think the gist of it is that the restaurant became "available" on 15 January 2012.

The little strip that it sits in, Fortune Square has not seen great success in quite a long while (the main store is Big Lots), but that makes it attractive to smaller operations, a number of which have come and gone over the years, including notably La Pizza Cucina.

UPDATE 18 September 2012 -- It's now Kiki's Chicken and Waffles:

I think Walker's Service Center remains in business while they try to sell the building (which to my memory has been on the market for years), but obviously they were not the first tenant here in what was a service station of some sort.

The architecture is distinctive enough that I ought to be able to name it easily, but in the event it's slipping my mind, and I will update the post title when either someone identifies it, or I remember to look it up at the library. These full service gas stations use to be just about the only ones you saw, and with cars so much more fragile in those years, that made sense. Now they are a dying breed, and with the closure of Forest Lake Exxon I can only think of a few left in town.

UPDATE 23 February 2012: Updated post title from "Gas Station" to "Abbot's Texaco" based on the comments.

UPDATE 13 June 2017 -- Now Pete's Mobile Auto & Truck Repairs:

Depending on if you believe showcase.com or LoopNet (which has a nice aerial view), this building was built either in 1942 or 1939. Either way, it's an old one, and has a little character, at least from the front side.

I'm not entirely sure if the Stone Manufacturing Company is defunct or has just moved. They are still listed in the February 2011 phonebook with the notation "undwr" which coupled with the fact that the location is, or was, somehow involved with the still extant internet underwear retailing site underneath.com, I take to mean that it is or was a textile operation making underclothes. There's probably a joke in there somewhere about how people in glass houses shouldn't wear Stone's..

Once upon a time, this building was The Whale's Tail and then Rubino's Italian Restaurant. More recently it has been the second location for Alpine Road's Little Pigs Barbeque -- in fact, after the Alpine Road store caught fire, and before it was repaired, this was the flagship location, though it's hard to imagine a place further away from Alpine Road but still "in the Columbia area".

The building does not seem to be up for sale, and is still furnished, so perhaps the owners have plans to re-open, or open a different restaurant here.

(Hat tip to commenter Nobody).

UPDATE 17 June 2013 -- Cletus' Roadside Grille is now operating in this building (and has been for a while):

Here at the corner of North Main & Sunset Drive is another Columbia area Burger King not serving hamburgers.

However in this case, unlike many cases where a "remodeling" sign is more a fond wish than a hard fact, I think we can expect this store to be back in business before too long as there is actual work underway inside and out.

Heck, even the french fries are being remodeled!

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)

UPDATE 8 March 2012 -- Repainting has started:

UPDATE 24 October 2012: I've got some pix somewhere, but I shouldn't wait to find them to say that this Burger King is done remodeling and is open again.

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I saw a little appreciation ad inside the front page of today's State to the effect that Mrs. Ann Hampton, the first princial of Satchel Ford Elementary School turned 100 years old today.

Mrs. (Or "Miss" as we called all our teachers then) Hampton was principal when I started first grade in 1967 and I think all the students there had an enormous amount of respect and affection for her. We never doubted that if we strayed, she would set us straight, but also never doubted that she had our best interests at heart. As I started second grade, she guided the school through the potentially difficult task of integrating both the student body and faculty, and as I recall it, things went very smoothly. We all looked forward to her daily morning messages over the intercom, and the programs she led in the cafetorium.

Today, the school is led by one of her onetime charges, and the ballfield behind the school bears her name.

Happy Birthday Miss Hampton!

The north-forty was great. The south-forty was a little dry..

Interestingly, I cannot find this barber shop, on Percival Road between Decker Boulevard and Forest Drive, in any of my phonebooks. It does show up in google, but it's neither in the BellSouth white pages nor the BellSouth yellow pages. Commenter Sidney says it was there for 8 years until it ran into financial difficulties in January.

At any rate, judging by the current tenant, you can still get a severe haircut there!

(Hat tip to commenter Sidney)

UPDATE 11 June 2020: Add map icon.