Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

Commenter Badger points out this old quonset hut on Garners Ferry Road just east of the Old Garners Ferry Road fork. Regular google search doesn't bring up a lot of information about it, but we can get some old StreetView pictures to tie down two incarnations:

September 2007: A window tinting operation; I can't quite make out the name:

June 2008: I can't quite make out the name here either, but some sort of plant and/or produce stand:

August 2011: Still the same place I think, but with a better sign saying something like Produce & Plants Food Mart. If you move around a little the first word might be Mulligan's:

The plants and produce operation was gone by November 2014, and the place seems to have been vacant since then.

Restaurant models come in waves, for instance crab-themed seafood places, and there has been a wave of coffee drive-throughs lately, to include 7Brew, Clutch, Hard Bean, The Human Bean & Canal Coffee. Scooter's was part of that wave and opened here on Garners Ferry Road in 2023, part of a number of local openings as reported by The State.

The closing note on the drive-through doesn't really give any details, but a non-official Reddit posting suggests that only stores owned by WalReedBev Co are affected, and that does match the names given by The State.

(Hat tip to commenter Trevin)

Sylvan's has been in this spot on Main Street approximately forever, or accurately since 1905. I was today years old when I learned that the official name is no longer Sylvan Brothers, and that the Sylvan family has not been involved since 1985. Still, it remains a family store, now owned by the Schiffman family.

The Sylvan clock, along with the now vanished Standard Savings & Loan clock has always been a key part of my memories of the area, and I am happy to learn that it will remain where it has stood since 1906.

The store will be moving into the former Wet Willies building on Gervais Street sometime this fall. A non-specific October date is mentioned a few places, but I have not seen an exact one. Likewise, I believe I heard something about a moving sale, but have not seen anything in print about that.

In the meantime, you can read about the move here & here.

I'm curious.

Is anyone aware of a working payphone in the Columbia area?

I noticed this vacant ATM setup at Columbiana Station when I went over to take pictures of B Mac's Buffet.

I had no memory of what it was, or when it ceased, but Google StreetView suggests it was a South Carolina Federal Credit Union location, and that it vanished sometime between September 2011 & August 2015.

The street address is not particularly accurate, it belongs to Dick's which the stand is more or less in front of.

I don't know much about Clean Juice. Judging from the Google reviews, it seems like they did smoothies & avocado toast, but I see the one on Forest Drive also has sandwiches and acai bowls. They were located just a few doors down from Wayback Burgers.

The closing note is a bit confusing, opening with We have sold!, but apparently that does not mean they have sold the operation as an ongoing concern.

(Hat tip to commenter JamesR)

I don't have much to say about this closing, just that the onwership of this Blaze was the same as the one at Sandhill, and it closed on the same date with the same note.

The Corner Blend at the corner of Main & Blossom Streets has been a number of things since the building went up. Most recently, I believe, it was Yoghut, and my understanding at the time was that The Corner Blend is essentially a reflagging of that operation to signal a new focus on Boba and Acai bowls.

The Post & Courier reports that the space has been taken by the owners of the Rosewood Market who want to make it a mini-outpost of that brand. It sounds as though there is still a good bit of work to do, but the projected timeframe is "this fall".

(Hat tip to commenter Cats)

This has already been discussed extensively in Have Your Say but B Mac's Buffet which opened on 8 August 2025, in the old Copper River Grill location, unexpectedly closed on 26 August, 18 days later.

Here is a State story on the news that the place would be moving in. In retrospect, there are a number of red flags on display.

The State covers the actual opening here here.

You can read about the closing at WLTX.

(Hat tip to a number of commenters, but I believe commenter Tom made the first definitive 'This place is closed' mention.)

Here's another place I never ate -- I wasn't really aware of it, and anyway would worry about parking. I don't have an exact date for the closing, but the follow-on, Surfin' Sumo, "Hawaiian fusion flavors with a Japanese twist", opened on 28 August 2025, so presumably at least a couple of weeks before that, to allow for the changeover.

I don't see any stories about Sandwich Depot (the Google reviews are middling), but here are stories about the new operation from City government, the Post & Courier & The State.

(Hat tip to commenter Justin)