Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

I don't have much to say about this closing, just that the onwership of this Blaze was the same as the one at Sandhill, and it closed on the same date with the same note.

The Corner Blend at the corner of Main & Blossom Streets has been a number of things since the building went up. Most recently, I believe, it was Yoghut, and my understanding at the time was that The Corner Blend is essentially a reflagging of that operation to signal a new focus on Boba and Acai bowls.

The Post & Courier reports that the space has been taken by the owners of the Rosewood Market who want to make it a mini-outpost of that brand. It sounds as though there is still a good bit of work to do, but the projected timeframe is "this fall".

(Hat tip to commenter Cats)

This has already been discussed extensively in Have Your Say but B Mac's Buffet which opened on 8 August 2025, in the old Copper River Grill location, unexpectedly closed on 26 August, 18 days later.

Here is a State story on the news that the place would be moving in. In retrospect, there are a number of red flags on display.

The State covers the actual opening here here.

You can read about the closing at WLTX.

(Hat tip to a number of commenters, but I believe commenter Tom made the first definitive 'This place is closed' mention.)

Here's another place I never ate -- I wasn't really aware of it, and anyway would worry about parking. I don't have an exact date for the closing, but the follow-on, Surfin' Sumo, "Hawaiian fusion flavors with a Japanese twist", opened on 28 August 2025, so presumably at least a couple of weeks before that, to allow for the changeover.

I don't see any stories about Sandwich Depot (the Google reviews are middling), but here are stories about the new operation from City government, the Post & Courier & The State.

(Hat tip to commenter Justin)

Sometimes it seems as though restaurants go through phases, and for a while the "build-your-own-pizza" phase was hot. I never went to Blaze, but I have been to Mod, and I understand that it's a similar experience: You go through a line like you are building a buritto except it's a pizza, and after you have all your toppings they quick-fire it and there you go.

It's a concept that has been going through some tough times as Mod went through bankruptcy recently and closed locations, 1000 Degress never got here, and now all the Midlands Blaze locations have shut down.

Blaze is not the first restaurant to close in this storefront, back in 2013, it was Al Amir with the place sitting vacant, I believe, until Blaze moved in in 2016.

Here is the story in The State & The Free Times.

(Hat tip to commenter Tom)

This place is now called Veneziano's. Looking at the Google reviews, it's hard to say exactly when this happened, but apparently the ownership changed about a year ago, and the name probably changed around October of 2024. I had eaten several times at Papa Gio's, and it was not my favorite place. I found that consistently the garlic knots had very little or no garlic on them, and since they did not have 10 inch pizza, I would order a calzone, which would generally have cold ricotta in the filling.

I decided to try Veneziano's, and found the interior much the same with the exception of some tables being removed in the area directly behind the hostess stand. Service was good and friendly, but I still found that the garlic knots had no garlic, and the calzone was filled with chilled ricotta...

I thought every now and then that I might stop in here, but I was never in the area at the right time, or at least when I hadn't already decided where to go.

The business has been up for sale for a while, and apparently they have not found a buyer, shutting down about 13 August, judging by comments on their Facebook and this State story.

(Hat tip to commenter JamesR)

Here is another spot which has succumbed to the curse of 3315 Farrow Road. I don't know anything about it other than their Facebook suggests they opened in September of 2024.

This Olympia spot, sharing a building with liquor & convenience stores, announced late last year that they would have to close if they could not sell the operation. In the event, that did not happen, and The State has the story on the actual closing.

This is one of many spots around town I was never really aware of, but they apparently had quite a wide-ranging menu.

(Hat tip to commenter Mr. Hat)

Here's another place I wasn't really aware of. Judging from the name and the decor, they were going for a retro vibe, which can certainly work for a burger place. This storefront is in the Lexington Square enclave which is anchored by Lowes Food.

(Hat tip to commenter JamesR)