Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

Well, another day, another Pig. I wasn't even aware there was a place called Red Bank in the Midlands until I started this blog, but there's actually a good bit of commercial activity there near the I-20 intersection. Although now there's a little less..

As commenter Homer mentions, with the closing of this store, the only footprints the chain has left in the area are the North Main Street & Devine Street stores, and with the adding of this closing, I will have, if I am counting correctly, 19 closings for Piggly Wiggly. How have the mighty fallen.

(Hat tip to commenter Jimmy)

UPDATE 12 January 2018: Add store number as found by commenter Andrew to post title.

As the store on Saint Andrews Road did earlier, the new-ish Aldi in Lexington has closed for a complete remodel. The signs say that they are slated to be back on 29 June 2017. That may be pusing it: That's less than 15 days away, and the store appears completely gutted now.

Looking back, the old Bike To Nature building was still here in August of 2013, and construction of this store still had not started in February of 2014, so they are doing a complete upfit after being open less than three years..

(Hat tip to commenter Beth)

I'll admit that when this came up in Have Your Say, I couldn't even remember that there was a Save a Lot on Saint Andrews Road. In point of fact it hasn't been there that long, replacing the Kroger some time in 2015. That seems curious to me, as though they badly misread the market or something changed. The KJ's down the road might be direct competition, but that was planned before this store went in, and despite the Bi-Lo to Harvey's change at the top of the hill, I still don't see that location as direct competition to a discounter like Sav a Lot. Commenter Andrew references the new Wal Mart Neighboorhood Market, but that seems a good way from here..

At any rate, it appears the store will close on 22 June.

(Hat tip to commenter Sidney).

Well this has been pretty ventilated in Have Your Say for a while now, but the Bi-Lo at Friarsgate Plaza will be closing soon. Unlike some of the other local Bi-Lo's, this one will apparently not be becoming a Harvey's.

Googling around, I see that a lot of other Bi-Los have closed recently as the chain continues to fare poorly, though I have always been happy enough with the stores whenever I happened to stop in at one.

In this particular case, the venue does not help as Friarsgate Plaza does not seem to be thriving. You can see one indication of such by looking at the plaza marquee, which continues to tout Monterrey, which featured in a closing here six years ago.

(Hat tip to commenter ED)

UPDATE 12 June 2017 -- Still open. Pretty picked over, but still some good staples. Mostly 40%off:

UPDATE 30 September 2021 -- Now a CubeSmart self-storage place:

Also updating tags and adding map icon.

Well, here is the second of the three Columbia area Bi-Los recently reflagged as Harveys. This one is in Widewater Square at the corner of Broad and Saint Andrews Roads.

I see Harveys has been "trading" since 1924. Not bad for an intangible rabbit.

Not long after closing the Forest Drive store, Bi-Lo continues to make changes in the Columbia market. As mentioned by commenter James R, and explained in this State story, three of Columbia's Bi-Lo's are being reflagged as Harveys. That brand is still associated with the chain, but targets a more value-conscious shopper. To me it seems a little awkward to admit your flagship stores aren't value-conscious, but there you go.

This store in High Point On Decker is already fully converted, with a new facade and even a marquee on the High Point street sign tower. Though I could have sworn I drove that stretch very recently without noticing any work.

According to The State, the other two local stores switching over are the one at the top of Saint Andrews Road and the one, which I can't bring to mind at all, on Monticello Road.

(Hat tip to commenter James R)

As above, this BI-LO opened on 15 November 2013, giving them about a three year run after taking over from The Pig.

I don't understand the rationale for closing this particular store, as it seems to have some pretty big plus factors to me. The groceries in this area are Kroger on Forest at Beltline, Trader Joe's at 4516 Forest, Fresh Market and Publix at Trenholm Plaza, and arguably Wal-Mart at Forest & I-77. Of those, Fresh Market and Trader Joe's are upscale specialty stores that are a different market than a general grocery, Publix is cramped and has bad parking, Kroger has bad parking and so-so location, and Wal-Mart .. is Wal-Mart. Against that, this spot has good parking, a large layout, and lots of built-in customers as soon as the re-purposing of Cardinal Newman is complete.

On the other hand, BI-LO is not in the most robost shape, and has presumably thought about all these issues.

At any rate, the sell-off was almost complete when I went in on Saturday 24 September. Remaining were only two endcaps of odd frozen goods, and one shelf of deeply discounted (and not particularly popular) items near the registers. The rest of the store was already a hollow shell.

UPDATE 9 August 2017 -- The teaser sign for Lowes is up on the plaza sign board and the store itself has now been designated a construction area (though I have seen no activity as yet):

UPDATE 31 October 2017 -- As mentioned in the comments, construction for Lowe's has begun, and the building is basically ripped open:

UPDATE 17 February 2018 -- Starting to look like a Lowes:

UPDATE 19 March 2018 -- Shaping up:

UPDATE 25 June 2018 -- Nearly there:

Well, I thought we had reached pigqulibrium, but I gues not. The Edens Plaza Pig on Beltline is in the process of closing now.

I went by today, and the place is at that interesting sweet spot of not too picked over but already pretty good discounts. Perishables are mostly gone, but there are still plenty of canned goods, baking supplies, laundry detergent, toothpaste and other sundries..

The location seems fairly viable to me and the area is not over-grocered. It would not surprise me to see an IGA or Sav-A-Lot go in here.

(Hat tip to commenter Mr. BO via email)

UPDATE 27 August 2017 -- Roses will be opening here on 31 August 2017:

The Devine Street Piggly Wiggly recently changed ownership as noted in a story in The Columbia Star, which you may or may not be able to read here. With all the churn engulfing The Pig recently, it's good to see one store hang on.

In this case, the managers of the former Garners Ferry store have bought Devine Street outright:

The 35,000-squarefoot store closed late last Sunday for an inventory, reopening Monday under the new owners. Miller says customers are unlikely to notice many changes early on. He said the store has been well maintained, but he expects some refurbishing and painting ahead.

“Piggly Wiggly has gone back to its roots as a group of independently owned Piggly Wiggly stores joined by a common brand, collaborative marketing, and the flexibility of individual ownership,” said David Schools, president and CEO of Greenbax Enterprises, Piggly Wiggly Carolina’s parent.

Put that way, it sounds a bit like IGA.

As usual, when I'm trying to shoot against the sun, the results aren't pretty, but this Piggly Wiggly on the Charleston Highway near the I-77/I-26 interchange is on the way out -- in fact, it may actually be closed at this point.

When I took these shots on 3 August 2014, the store was mostly still in full operation. There were a few signs that they were trying to sell off the whole stock, but really, if you had gone for most any normal grocery item, you would have found it and the discounts were pretty modest (I believe most signs said 20%, but only to Pig cardmembers).

With this closure, I'm not quite sure where the nearest replacement store is. There's an IGA in Gaston, but the Reid's which would have been the nearest store in the other direction recently closed as well.

Of course, the new State Farmers' Market is quite nearby for adventurous souls.

UPDATE 21 August 2014 -- The place is now closed:

UPDATE 14 December 2021 -- After seven years, this store is still vacant:

Also adding a map icon.