Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

I got out here last year to take some pictures based on information from commenter Joe Shlabotnik, but couldn't get close enough to the actual building to see if it were in fact closed as the Verizon signage was still up at the road and it was a weekend. Unfortunately I no longer have those pictures, so the ones above just show the current sign for Southeastern Esthetics Institute (albeit clearly poster-ed over on top of the Verizon sign). I'm not sure what they do, but it seems to me they probably have more parking lot than they need.

(Hat tip to commenter Joe Shlabotnik)

I first wrote about this office complex way back in 2009 when I was reminiscing about how it was the only place (that I could find) in town to buy Mac floppies back when the Mac was introduced and I was in grad school.

Since then, the place has had its ups and downs. When it was kept up, and the lake was taken care of, it could be fairly attractive, as you can see in the first picture, and in the LoopNet listing. In recent years that has been more the exception than the rule however.

Currently the place is derelict and boarded up, the lake is a mess, and the whole lot is up for sale.

Kandy Shop was an alternative club in the Margarette H. Miller Cosmetology Center which apparently only lasted a couple of months. As I was driving by recently, I noticed that it was gone, and now the venue is another night operation Club 1509.

There's been a lot of land cleared on the South side of the road between those two intersections.

Well, by the time I get around to noting a closing, it's open again.

The previous incarnation of 1801 Grille was run by Burke Hospitality Group in conjunction with USC and closed in December of 2022. The new incarnation apparently opened yesterday and is called Angell Bros. 1801 Grille and is run, obviously enough I suppose by the Angell brothers who have a number of J. Peters and other restaurants in the area. Here is a State story on the new operation, and here is one on the December closing. The new restaurant's site is here.

When I went by last weekend, it wasn't apparent to me that the opening date was this close, but things generally appeared in order, and the patio is quite nice.

(Belated hat tip to commenter Midnight Rambler)

This Zoe's Kitchen hung on longer than all the others in the Midlands, which all converted to Cava stores over the last few months, but it has finally spun its cocoon as well.

I was able to eat at a Cava recently, and found it to be almost exactly like Kairos, but with a more industrial and less welcoming feel.

(Hat tip to commenter Tom)

I never made it to Swamp Cabbage Brewery while it was open. I like a beer every now and again, but generally as dessert for a sit-down meal, so I usually stick to brewpubs. In point of fact it was actually hard to to locate this place, and I had to make two trips. It turns out that street numbers on Brookwood Drive are really odd, but after going home and consulting google maps, I finally got there, and found the setup still pretty much intact.

The Free Times had two stories about the closing, here and here.

(Hat tip to commenter MB)

There is a little confusion over the exact name of this place. It was the second location for Moctezuma Taqueria, so the sign and some of the online presence is for the humorous Moc2umas Taqueria and in other places it is simply Moctezuma Taqueria. (Still other places add an apostrophe for Moctezuma's Taqueria...).

Anyway, they moved into the back suite in this former motel after Julia's German Stammitisch moved out in 2018, and were there until late January when they had to leave due to circumstances beyond their control. According to commenter Larry and confirmed by The State, those circumstances were the sale of the property so that a veterinary clinic can be built there.

(Hat tip to commenter Larry)

UPDATE 5 July 2023: Now open in the old Lizard's Thicket building on Beltline:

Forest Lake Place is the street which connects Trenholm Road with Lakeshore Drive, running behind the Forest Lake Shopping Center, the former Forest Lake Park, Cava, and Tuesday Morning, and in front of Forest Lake Gardens. Over the years, it has been an open question if the road, in fact, goes all the way to Trenholm, or at some point was mearly the parking lot for the shopping center. It mattered because if it was part of the parking lot, the city didn't have to repair it, and in fact, that stretch got pretty dire over the years.

The bridge spanned Gills Creek, and would surely have been underwater for a while during the Great Flood of 2015, and it was closed for a while in the aftermath of that. In more recent years there had been concern about its integrity with another closure at one point, and an ongoing load restriction. In December of 2022, the span was knocked down, and is currently being rebuilt (with a footbridge for workers the only crossing there now). Along with this, the city is building an ampitheatre & park in the low-lying area on the Cava side of the bridge, and it appears work on that has started as well.

For the duration, don't expect to be able to get to Cava or the other businesses from Trenholm.

I have seen Hwy 55 operations pop up here and there in the area and on the coast, but I have never gotten around to trying one. Apparently it's a North Carolina outfit that started out as Andy’s Cheesesteaks & Cheeseburgers. Not that I get to Elgin often anyway, but it looks like I won't be trying one here.

The Free Times has a bit on the closing of this location, saying that it is to become a fast-casual Greek operation, Gyromania Grill sometime in February or March.

(Hat tip to commenter Thomas)