Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

American Deli replaced Burger King in this slot in the Columbiana Centre food court sometime around October of 2017. I'm guessing that it probably closed at the start of January 2019, as that would be a logical month/year boundry for a lease, and commenter Matthew Benjmain reported it closed as of 11 January 2019.

It looks like there are two remaining American Deli locations in the Midlands, one on Garners Ferry Road, and one on Decker Boulevard.

(Hat tip to commenter Matthew Benjmain)

I believe the only time I have eaten in a Beef O'Brady's was at Pawleys Island, in the unit behind the Waffle House that became DeRoma's Pizza. I thought it was a pretty typical sports/casual dining type of place and had a decent burger.

Not only did I never eat at this one, but I'm pretty sure I have never in my life been in this spot, or near this spot before. I'm fairly sure that sites like this busy Publix plaza are a pretty new development in the area. Yelp says that this location was open at least until the end of August, so I am just tagging the closing as "Fall 2018". Interestingly, the new Yelp listing for "B's" has the same phone number as for Beef O' Brady's, and the reviews tag it as very similar, so I'm thinking that perhaps the owners just wanted to disaffiliate so they could add their own touches to the same general formula.

(Hat tip to commenter James R)

Kaboto Express was the follow-on in this storefront to Schlotzsky's Deli, and opened around September of 2011.

I notice that their initial signage did not include the phrase Hibachi Grill, and I wonder if they just weren't finished putting up the sign, or if that was a later direction shift.

(Hat tip to commenter brian)

UPDATE 13 March 2019 -- Work is on to open as Slice Of Columbia pizza:

UPDATE 7 February 2020 -- Slice of Columbia is open (and has been for a while):

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According to The State, God's Blessing Cafe opened in early July 2018, serving classic Southern fare. This location is next to the former Jefferson Square Theater and is in the spot previously occupied by The Lunch Box, Palmetto Grille and Cavanaugh's Deli.

For me, this seems a tough spot to run a restaurant because parking issues will keep all but the local office crowd away. On the other hand, you could say the same about a number of Main Street lunch venues. Maybe it's just a bit too far North.

(Hat tip to commenter James R)

Longtime Fort Jackson Boulevard staple Julia's German Stammitisch has moved from the old motel behind Cross Hill Market and to Sparkleberry Crossing in the old Za's location.

The State has the details, which include the fact that the Fort Jackson Boulevard space will be occupied by Moctezumas Taqueria which is moving from 506 Beltline Boulevard.

Schnitzel on!

(Hat tip to commenter Jimmy)

This building was originally a Bojangles and was next and an Asian barbecue restaurant.

In 2016, Nick's Gyros & Seafood set up shop, and lasted until this year. Or at least I noticed driving by recently that it was now Charlie's Wing's & Seafood and I think I would have noticed that fairly shortly after it happened as I drive that way frequently.

In retrospect, perhaps it was a bad idea to name a restaurant something that makes it tempting to write "Goodbye" headlines.

I never had any problem with Ruby Tuesday, but in recent years, it was clearly a place looking for its own identity in a flailing market sector. I used to visit this store weekly, as I liked the salad bar, and it was about the right distance that I could get my old Corolla wagon out on the interstate for a few miles and keep it viable. During that period I think they revamped the salad bar about four times, changes that did not always make it better, at least in my opinion. They also started and stopped serving complementary biscuits during that time as well. (They were OK, some sort of cheese drop biscuit, not as good as a real breakfast biscuit, but acceptable).

I'm not surprised this location closed, as there is another just up Garners Ferry Road, and I suspected when the chain started being in the news that one location or the other would have to go. The State has the story, but not really any more details.

With the recent retail openings in the Cross Hill area and the Old Kmart this is something of an up and coming area now, so perhaps the building will not be vacant for too long.

(Hat tip to Mr. Hat)

UPDATE 3 October 2019 -- New construction is going up on the old Ruby Tuesday lot:

UPDATE 12 May 2020: Update tags.

UPDATE 11 September 2020 -- The new buldings are complete. Kairos is now open and Another Broken Egg Cafe is about to:

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so at the time, Dave Thomas must have been very flattered.

Shortly after Wendy's came to town, a number of copycat restaurants popped up. They all had young girl mascots after which they were named, had square hamburgers and interiors set up with what at that time was Wendy's signature: One serving line. Unlike Burger King which was famous for letting McDonald's spend a lot of money finding ideal locations and then setting up across the street, these copy-cats tended to set up in smaller towns where there was, at the time, no Wendy's, or at least that's how I remember it. I'm pretty sure I recall chains called Judy's and Penny's (which I think had a restaurant in Georgetown which became El Cerro Grande before they razed it and built their own building). And then there was Cindy's Ole Time Hamburgers, which honestly I don't recall at all. Locating in Hartsville at the time would definitely be the setting up in a smaller market strategy though.

I haven't been able to find out much about Cindy's except that it definitely was a a Wendy's copy-cat and that its trademark was filed in 1976 (about the right time) and is expired. However, the chain still seems to exist in the Phillipines.

This particular location is at the intersection of US-15 & SC-151, and would have been basically in the boonies back in the day. It's still not what you would call a dense area. I may have the street address a little bit wrong, but it's close enough for Google Streetview to show the restaurant.

As you can see from the pictures, nobody else has ever set up shop here. In fact, I believe the place is now what you call a micro-clime which is uniquely suited for various plant life, though not so much for beef.

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According to The State Delany's which has been open for almost 20 years will be closing on Friday 30 November 2018.

Delaney's Speakeasy, a jazz club down the street, was once under the same ownership as Delaney's. It was sold first, and then Delaney's itself was sold last year (it's not clear from the story, but I'm guessing not to the same party that bought Speakeasy).

In theory I have Irish roots, but in practice I've never been a pub goer, and never took the opportunity to visit Delaney's. From these pictures (taken several years ago), it looks like it would be a pleasant al-fresco experience in the spring or fall.

(Hat tip to commenter Tom)