Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

I'm not sure what's going on at Village At Sandhill, but quite a lot of it is cordoned off for construction with Enter At Your Own Risk signs. The blocks still having shops have walkways to the doors, but some buildings look completely encased...

I'm pretty sure I've shopped at Rack Room Shoes a time or two, but never at this location, just down from Belks. The signage is already down and the place pretty throughly stripped, so I'm guessing it was probably gone by mid-April at the latest.

(Hat tip to commenter Local Reader)

I was never really aware of Hitch RV on Garners Ferry though I must have seen it driving past many times. LoopNet has a picture of the lot in operation, and gives the size of the place as 4.63 acres, which is a pretty good plot. They also say the building dates to 1972, while I might have placed it earlier than that.

(Hat tip to commenter badger)

As I was out looking for Shealey's PDQ Too, I ran across this old "Pure" sign, and had to get some pictures. I figured it was a remnant from the distant past, as I haven't seen a "Pure" station, well, ever, but maybe not so fast.

It turns out that the "Pure" brand was resurrected in 1996, and is now actually headquatered in Rock Hill. Google maps tells me that this sign is actually associated with a "Pure" gas & convenience location just to the north which apparently closed around 2023, and if I ever get out there again, I will get some pictures of that as well. Anyway, I still like the sign.

This is one of those places that I was never sure if it were still open or not. It certainly appeared not, but there are reviews up until a few months ago.

At any rate, it appears to be closed now, joining a long line of former restaurants in this building on the spur of Bush River Road sometimes known as Old Bush River Road.

UPDATE 12 February 2026 -- As commenter Andrew mentions, hope springs eternal, and this spot is setting up to be Cedar Creek Tavern:

I don't know anything about Belly's other than that it is a barbecue place, and is currently listed by Google as "Temporarily Closed". Their Facebook hasn't been updated since 2023, so there's no clue there, but according to commenter Beth reporting on some other Facebook traffic, they may not be coming back.

(Hat tip to commenter Beth)

This Harbison Court storefront has been a number of things over the years. Most recently previous to Fresh Poke, I believe it was Yoghut.

Judging from their Facebook, this location packed it in around last Thanksgiving, though there are other locations int the Midlands. I don't believe she's tried the poke, but my niece likes the bubble-tea at the Forest Acres location.

(Hat tip to commenter Gypsie)

UPDATE 21 May 2024: The State says this is to become the second Midlands location for Handel's ice cream.

This is quite a way from my usual rounds, so I was not really aware that Social Grill existed until commenter Robert mentioned that they were closing down for a QT to be built on the lot. 9 March was their last day, and looking at their Facebook, they have already had an auction for the restaurant equipment.

The owners plan to open a pizza restaurant called Cheesy Pint in the former B's in the Publix Plaza on North Lake Drive.

(Hat tip to commenter Robert)

This building is the former home to The Ballistic Cener, TJ's and Videos & Beyond, the last of which closed in 2011.

I don't recall anything being here between that and Michael's, but I could be wrong. At any rate, Michae'ls was here by 2019. Judging by the Google reviews, they had decent food, but it tended to come a bit slowly, and they weren't filling up the whole space (though room rentals were available).

I can't pinpoint the closing time from the reviews, but commenter Gypsie suggests it has been around a year by now. As she also notes, there is some sort of construction or gutting going on with the building, so perhaps we will see something new soon.

(Hat tip to commenter Gypsie)

New location:

I never ate at this Subway though I'm sure it would have been fine, but I had noticed it over the years, using Bush River Road to cut-through between I-20 & Saint Andrews Road. This little plaza is a bit awkwardly located though, right as Bush River goes from four lanes to two, and people are suddenly having to cut over. It also has to be said that Subway was the upscale tenant here, and were probably glad enough to move a little up the road.

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)

I was aware of Burn Boot Camp in this location, but I was never really sure what it actually was. Judging by the corporate website, it is a gym chain focusing on shorter, 45 minute, workouts to get you in-and-out and off to your day with no wasted time. There remain several in the Midlands, with the next closest one probably being at Sandhill.

(Hat tip to commenter Larry)