Dickey's Barbecue Pit, 10136 Two Notch Road Suite 100-B: November 2023 3 comments
The only time I have eaten at a Dickey's was in Huntsville Alabama some years ago, and as I recall, it was fine. This location sounds to have been a bit different, and I have actually been to this place before to take pictures for a closing, only to find out that they were "just closed for some reason". Looking at the Google reviews, it appears that that was absolutely typical for this place, and they make interesting reading.
This time it appears they are definitely gone for good, but I don't expect the suite to stay vacant for long, as it is a street-visible storefront next to a busy Kroger.
(Hat tip to commenter Trevin)
UPDATE 16 September 2024 -- As reported in the comments, this is now setting up to be a Firehouse Subs:
UPDATE 6 October 2024: Took out the Starbucks picture which wasn't meant to be on this post.
Jin Jin Chinese Restaurant, 469 Sunset Boulevard: 2 December 2023 2 comments
I was not aware of Jin Jin tucked away here in the struggling Capitol Square shopping center, but they apparently closed on 2 December according to their facebook. As far as I can tell, this closure brings an end to any activity at the plaza. Since their note mentions that their lease was ending, I can't help but wonder if the owners have been getting everybody out in advance of redeveloping the property which abuts an up-and-coming area (with the only negative being the chicken plant when the wind is wrong..). Given that even the plaza's roadside marquee sign has been let to go to pot, I suspect something like that is happening.
The other thing about the property which strikes me, aside from it being all vacant, is the number of payphones, mostly not vandalized (though not currently connected) along the walkway. I mean, I suppose '3' is not a high number historically, but it's the most I've seen in years.
Here is the strip's real-estate brochure, which mentions none of this, but does show a number of former tenants, and the roadside sign.
(Hat tip to commenter Justin)
UPDATE 18 December 2023 -- Here is the plaza sign in happier times circa 2016:
Sol Cocina Mexicana, 12036 Ocean Highway (Pawleys Island): November 2023 2 comments
Sol was the follow-on in this space (which was built as a Sam's Corner hotdog place) to the idiosyncratically named Joe Loves Lobster Rolls.
It was a rather upscale Mexican place, the kind where they don't have the items you expect, and you don't get free chips & salsa. In the event, I only ate there once, with my college roommate & his wife after we had taken in an evening at Nights Of A Thousand Candles. The only thing I saw on the menu that appealed to me was the Chile Rellenos, which were fine, but on the whole for that type of concept, I prefer Luna in Murrells Inlet.
One thing I did notice driving by in the years after that, was that the hours of the place were rather unusual, and they tended to take the winter completely off. The Sun News has the story on the closing. The given reason is that the rent in this spot is too high, which seems odd as it is a building which has had trouble holding restaurants, and it is a bit off the beaten path. At any rate, the owner hopes to re-open somewhere on the Grand Strand.
Chick-Fil-A, 5440 Forest Drive: November 2023 (Temporary) no comments
Here's another Chick-Fil-A teardown/rebuild as they continue to pivot to drive-through centric restaurants. This one is in the Wal-Mart plaza at Forest Drive & I-77.
(Hat tip to commenter Larry)
Village Idiot Pizza, 4517 Forest Drive: December 2023 9 comments
Village Idiot is the follow-on operation in this storefront to Paulie's Pizzeria, which succumbed in 2009 to a kind of "If we have ingredients today, maybe we'll make pizza" syndrome. I never found the space a good sit-down restaurant in that incarnation, and since I never really warmed to Village Idiot in Five Points, I never tried this location.
The chain remains ongoing, but with the sale of this strip-mall, and the end of their lease coming up, they decided not to continue in this location.
The State has the story here, as does the Free Times here. I'll note that The State describes Forest Acres as ritzy, which is not a word I'd ever associated with our little community before.
The closing date is not firmed up yet, but will be by the end of the year.
(Hat tip to commenter Larry)
UPDATE 11 February 2025 -- Now Morelia Gourmet Paletas. Paletas are apparently some sort of popsicle:
Brookgreen Gardens Nights Of A Thousand Candles 2023, Brookgreen Gardens: 2 December 2023 no comments
I got a late start to this year's Nights Of A Thousand Candles because a) I'm slack, and b) It was raining a bit earlier, but on getting there, found it dry, and the warmest of any of the years I have been there. There have been a number of years that it has been so cold I could barely take pictures since I couldn't feel the camera buttons, but this year I hardly needed a sweater, and the new "S'mores" pits were actually a bit too hot.
The basic theme of candles & lights in trees remains the same, but there are always a few new setups, this year's lighted bottles, for instance to keep things fresh, and I always highly enjoy it. The festival continues through New Years, and if you have a chance to check it out, you really should.
Scatori's, 1399 S. Commons Drive Suite A5 (Myrtle Beach): September 2023 no comments
To my memory, I only ate at Scatori's once, probably about five years ago, and it was fine, though not any better than my normal Strand pizza venues. I did think whenever I heard of it that the name was a bit unfortunate.
The Sun News says that the place had been open 15 years, which would have made it an early storefront in this shopping center, which I still think of as 'new' itself. The chef, who featured on TV's Cutthroat Kitchen has gone on to West Virgina to run a food truck which seems like an odd progression, but I guess that's what he wanted to do.
Both news articles say that Scatori's was sold in January (though it did not close then), but it appears that as of yet, the new owners have not done anything to the interior setup or furnishings.
(Hat tip to commenter Dan R)
Hope Yours Goes Better! no comments
A Fuego, 7320 Broad River Road: 31 October 2023 1 comment
A Fuego was the follow-on operation in this spot to Pizzeria Opa, and opened sometime in the fall of 2021. I never visited, and know nothing about Peurto Rican food, but the place got good reviews.
As far as I know, nothing new has been announced for the spot, but given the setup, I would expect another restaurant at some point.
(Hat tip to commenter Heath for the heads-up and the last three pictures above)
Kleen Kare Cleaners & Laundry, 6179 Saint Andrews Road: 2016 3 comments
Commenter Andrew mentioned back in 2016 that this Kleen Kare location had closing signage up, but I totally spaced on checking it out, and completely forgot about it until commenter Gypsie mentioned that the building was actually For Sale.
Kleen Kare is on an outparcel of Seven Oaks Shopping Center, not far from two other outparcels (here & here) which have also seen business shut semi-recently.
(Belated hat-tip to commenter Andrew, recent tip to commenter Gypsie)