Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

"Liggett's", as we called it, was in Trenholm Plaza more or less where The Fresh Market now is.

Liggett's was a Rexall drugstore, and like most drugstores, carried a good bit of general merchandise. Unlike most drugstores today, it also had a lunch counter, which, unlike Campbell's Drugstore across Forest Drive, boasted booths as well a counter seating. Before the invasion of Columbia by burger chains, Liggett's was one of the most convienient places in Forest Acres to have lunch. We didn't do it that often. I now eat out every day, but growing up, it was more like once or twice a week (almost always for Sunday lunch). I suspect we went to Liggett's when my mother was carting both of us kids around shopping. My clearest memory of eating there is the day my mother made me try ketchup, something she probably came to rue, since after that, I wanted it on everything!

Liggett's also had a now forgotten piece of equipment called a tube-tester. This was a complicated science-fiction looking console studded with tube sockets with a flip chart up above. You would look up your tube on the flip chart, put it in the correct socket, flip the indicated switches to the correct presets, let the tube "warm up" and then hit the test button. If the tube were good, a needle on the test meter would rise into the green zone. If it were bad, the needle would stay in red or amber. I was always pulling discarded radios and TVs from people's curbside trash on the assumption that I could fix them if I replaced the right tubes. There was actually something to this, but since we had several perfectly good radios and a working TV, my parents were generally not inclined to spring for buying new tubes when I found a bad one, and since my weekly allowance was $0.50, I wasn't often in a position to buy one. It was still fun testing though.

I'm a little hazy on exactly what happened to Liggett's. I have some idea that it might have been totally bought by Rexall, dropping the "Liggett's" name and then may have been bought out by Eckards, which definitely did eventually have a store in that general part of Trenholm Plaza. I think Campbell's outlasted it, and there was some sort of drugstore with a lunch counter that lasted at least into the late 80s (on Garner's Ferry), but I think all of the drugstores with lunch counters are gone from Columbia now. Am I wrong?

UPDATE 17 Nov 08: Thanks to commenter Dennis for the graphic of a tube tester. Try doing that with your Ipod!

UPDATE 14 March 2009: Added 1963 Yellow Pages ad.

UPDATE 30 April 2013: Added picture of the Rexall logo from an old sign displayed at the Antique Mall on Broad River Road.

UPDATE 11 October 2013: Here is an amazing picture of the old Trenholm Plaza, with Liggett's. Thanks to commenter Dennis for digging this up!

I eat out a lot, and I've come to see that there are a number of rules for running a restaurant that are honored in the breach more often than the reverse. None of these are rocket science, but I thought I would write some of them down because a lot of restauranteers really need to read them.

1) Honor Your Posted Hours

I can't over-emphasize this item. Your posted hours are part of your contract with the public. Nobody forced you to post a particular set of hours on your door, but having posted them, you need to honor them. If I have made myself work until 9:30 with the lure of a nice supper based on your promise to be open until 10:30 and I show up to hear "Well, it wasn't very busy, so we closed the kitchen at 9, it's too late for me to go elsewhere. You have ruined my evening.

I try not to be a jerk. I will not waltz in at 5 minutes before closing and order an elaborate meal, but if I show up at least half an hour before posted closing, I expect to find your establishment in full operation.

2) Make More Tea

This is a related point. If I come in at least half an hour before closing, and you are out of tea, I expect you to make more. Yes, some of it will go to waste, but it is on your menu and only costs you pennies to make. Besides, if your staff weren't so hellbent on closing before you are supposed to, they wouldn't have dumped the urn.

3) If My Glass is Empty, Fill it Up

Really what more can I say? Is this so hard to do?

4) Don't Bring the Bill While I am Still Eating

If you bring the check before I have finished my meal, it implies that you want to get rid of me, and is somewhat rude. It also implies that you are washing your hands of me, and that I can expect no further refills. It is also not in your best interests. If I have been contemplating dessert, having a finalized bill pretty much kills the chance that I will ask for anything else.

5) Don't Let the Bill Sit

This is the inverse of the last rule. If I am not ready to go, I will not put cash or a credit card on the check you brought me. When I am ready, and do place my payment, I don't want it to take twenty minutes before you pick it up.

6) Never Ask: Do You Need Change?

If I have a check for $8.21 and hand you a $20 bill and you say "Do you need any change?", it implies you are angling for a $11.79 tip. It's even worse if what I would be getting back is close to (but more than) what I would be leaving you for a tip. In that case it makes me feel stingy for begrudging you an extra eighty cents.

The correct phrase is "I'll be right back with your change". This gives me the opening to say "That's OK" if I intend you to keep everything.

7) Make Sure the Staff Instructions Agree with the Menu

If your menu describes an item of food in one way, make sure the instructions given to the kitchen and wait staff agree with the written description.

For years, the menu at Shoney's described the spaghetti as coming with mushrooms. So I would order spaghetti, and it would invariably come without mushrooms, leading to the following exchange:

I didn't get any mushrooms with my spahgetti

You didn't say you wanted mushrooms

Well, the menu says it comes with them..

The same goes for El Chico, and the guacamole that is supposed to come with the beef burrito..

8) Don't Let the Waitresses set the Thermostat

They are walking around and carrying stuff. It's a hard job, and they are working. I am not, I'm just sitting there gradually freezing to death.

9) If You Must have a TV, Mute It

Sports bars are excluded, I suppose, but if I walk into a general restaurant, I either want to talk with the rest of my party, or if I'm alone, think my own thoughts. I don't want to hear about the news, a soap opera, an infomercial or even the weather I just came in from. On most modern TVs, you can activate a close-caption mode that lets the staff follow their programs without annoying the patrons.

10) Don't Argue

It amazes me that I feel I have to list this one, but it has happened, and flabbergasts me every time.

If I say I need a new fork, don't ask me "What's wrong with that one?". Just get me the fork.

I'm sure you have your own rules that are violated all the time. Leave me a comment, and if I agree, I'll add it to the list!

The Wendy's on Two Notch Road in Dentsville, near the K-Mart and Hess station was the first one in Columbia (at least that's the way I remember it). When Wendy's opened, it had an appealing retro decor: The tables were covered with 1890s newspaper ads, and the walkway was hung with plastic hippie beads and baubles. More importantly, they could make a good burger, the way you wanted it and fast. You placed your order at the register, and by the time you had paid and walked to the end of the counter, your burger was out, hot and customized. This was in marked contrast to McDonalds, Burger King (no matter what their commercials said) and Hardee's. Even aside from getting it quickly, the Wendy's "Single" was larger than a McDonald's burger, and seemed to taste better. Having found a winning formula, they naturally decided to tinker with it. They branched out into other food items like chicken and baked potatoes, added salad bars, and most importantly, slowed down the service. At some point in the 80s, going to Wendy's had become as bad for slow, incompetent service and incorrectly prepared orders as any other burger chain. It's still a cut above McDonalds and Burger King (the jury is still out on Hardee's until I get a chance to try their new Thickburgers..), but nothing special.

I don't know if the Two Notch location was a voluntary closing as part of the general flight from Dentsville (Olive Garden, Kroger, Lizard's Thicket, Target...) or if they just couldn't make it any more.

UPDATE 18 Feb 2011 -- This place is now (and has been for some time) Nick's Gyros & Subs:

Bell's was approximately in the location occupied by the Rite-Aid drugstore more or less on the corner of Forest Drive and Trenholm Road. I recall it as being more beind the Gulf station (now a Union 76 mini-mart). Certainly it didn't occupy the whole property now siting Rite-Aid.

Until McDonalds came to town (the Garner's Ferry location was the first), Bell's was the only option in the area for white-bag take out burgers. Both Ligett Rexall in Trenholm Plaza and Campbell's Drugs across the street had lunch counters, but not really take out operations. As I remember, Bell's had no dining area, though there may have been a couple of picnic tables outside. I don't recall the burgers much at all, but I really enjoyed the french-fries. I remember one time thinking that they were so good that I kept taking them into the bathroom to share with my father who was in the shower. He must have thought I was crazy, but he just kept saying thanks.

For some reason, I can't recall specifically noting that Bell's had closed or that the building had been torn down. I think it had happened by the time I started First Grade. Since McDonald's was running a promotion (which it did for years) to the effect that it would give a free burger to any kid with only As & Bs on his report card, McDonalds quickly became the focus of all my burger attention, and I had a kid's indifference to Bell's fate.

UPDATE 22 May 2011: Added a couple of pictures up top to reflect more or less where I recall Bell's as being, off to the side and sort of behind the Gulf.

What can I say about The Parthenon? The ambience wasn't anything special, most of the tables were wobbly, and some of the booths were 'tilters'. That, and they had the best pizza in Columbia.

I used to take my father there every Saturday night while he could still get out, and we'd share a medium with pepperoni, onions, bell-pepper and mushrooms. Even after I couldn't take him any more, the permanent staff would ask about him. After the the interminable Five Points street work reached The Parthenon's door, I knew things were iffy. Having to park a fair distance from the entrance was not good for the regular crowd as walking Five Points at night is liable to get you panhandled. The time I walked in and found myself the only customer was a real warning bell, and they announced that they were closing shortly after that. I remain flabbergasted that the work in Five Points was so poorly planned that this landmark was driven under.

There was some speculation at the time that the Parthenon folks would open another restaurant, but if it ever happened, I haven't heard of it.

UPDATE 16 April 2010 -- First, as you can read in the comments, The Parthenon crew are now at Zorba's Express waaaaaay out on Broad River Road. I finally made it over there, and the pizza was great! Second, I've added the 1985 Southern Bell yellow pages ad above.

This is one of the closings that tempts me to write good riddance. I know that's harsh, and that this place was someone's dream and livelihood. However..

The last time I was in this place was in the Spring, while the Sparkleberry Fair was running on Clemson Road across from The Village at Sandhills. We had been at the fair with my little three year old neice, and she was tired out and cranky, and had been promised a snack. The ABC was just across the road, and we imagined zipping in, getting her, and ourselves, a cookie and something to drink.

It quickly became apparent that this was not going to happen as visualized. The store didn't seem very full, but for some reason everyone in there was in the line rather than sitting down, and the line was not moving. It seemed the computer was down. OK, that happens. We decided we could wait a few minutes rather than putting my neice back in her car-seat and trying to find somewhere else. However, listening to the staff talk, it gradually dawned on me that none of them had any idea of what they were doing, and none of them had any authority to do anything.

At a well run restaurant in situations like this, after the staff has flailed for a few minutes, the manager comes out of the back and says something like:

Folks, looks like our computer is down, but we're going to take care of you. I've got my calculator and note pad here, and I'm going to write up your orders and get you your change. We'll worry about entering it into the system later.

Nothing of the sort happened here, and for the twenty or so minutes we waited, nobody was helped. It boggled my mind that with half a dozen people being paid to stand around, the most basic function of a business, taking in cash from customers, was not taking place.

The next time I went to Sandhills, I noticed that the store had closed, and was not a bit surprised. I was a bit surprised on a later visit to notice legal notices posted on the door complaining of non-payment of rent. But only a bit.

UPDATE 12 April 2010: Added full street address to post title.

UPDATE 5 May 2020: Add map icon, update tags.

UPDATE 5 June 2023: Put the address in the post title into suite format. Update tags.

I don't know exactly when this Kroger closed, sometime in November is my best estimate. I was just driving by one day, and noticed that it was gone. It had been looking pretty thread-bare the last few times I was in it.

The closing of this location leaves only one of the inital wave of Kroger's entry into the Columbia market still open: the location at the corner of Forest Drive & Beltline Blvd. I remember when Kroger first came to town, it was the store. I was in high-school at the time, and the Decker Blvd location was convient to me when I first started to drive. My recollection is that Kroger was definitely a cut above anything else in town at the time. All of the stores had full bakeries, and a cheese section with more than the standard block chedder I grew up on. They also had small housewares (the second microwave I ever bought came from Kroger) and if they weren't open all night at the time (I can't quite recall) they were certainly open later than most Columbia grocers.

The initial wave was Decker Mall, Bush River Mall, Forest Drive, Fort Jackson Blvd, and US-1 just past Triangle City. I think the Bush River Mall location was the first to go, as that mall never really established itself. The next was the Decker location, a harbinger of the general decline of the Decker corridor. This was followed by US-1 and now by Fort Jackson Blvd.

Part of this wave of closings, aside from the poor location on Bush River was due, in my opinion to the changes in the grocery market. When Kroger came to town, it was up-market, but the next wave of store openings by its competitors trumped that by being even more up-market and Kroger found itself with suddenly dated looking properties that weren't as nice inside as newer competitors. They seem to have elected to compete by building new stores rather than refurbishing older ones, and the store on Two Notch Rd near Spring Valley High is built to their new standards. It will be interesting to see how long the old store on Forest Drive can survive. The new Piggly Wiggly by Cardinal Newman beats it for up-market, and the one-two punch of Publix and Fresh Market at Trenholm Plaza delivers everything other than 24-hour shopping.

UPDATE 5 April 2009

Here is commentor Melanie (looking cute as a button!) with a clown at the grand opening celebration of this store back in the day:

Thanks Melanie!

UPDATE 26 April 2010: Added full street address to post title.

UPDATE 30 April 2010: Added some more pictures (utility work was ongoing in the parking lot at the time these were taken).

UPDATE 6 February 2012 -- Well, it appears that work on the Whole Foods uplift has begun:

(Also, I have finally got around to adding Family Mart to the post title).

UPDATE 10 May 2012 -- Construction continues in these pictures from 6 March 2012:

The rubble in the final picture above is from the demolition of the old Lucas Machinery building.

Photosets:

Photoset 6 March 2012

To my mind, Al-Amir was the best Middle Eastern restaurant in Columbia. My favorites were the falaffel with fresh tabouli salad and the fresh seeded Damascus bread hot from the brick oven. The inside dining area was distinctive with its wraparound bench seating, strewn with pillows. My four year old neice loved how she could walk all the way around the table. It was like a little play-area with dining for her.

In mid-December, I noticed a banner outside noting that the restaurant would be closing on 23 Dec. I don't know what happened as they always seemed to be doing a good business to me. Perhaps they were over-extended. They had opened a satellite site on Clemson Road a few years back which didn't last long, and had recently (I believe) opened a location on St. Andrews Road. That location will continue. If I had to speculate, I would guess that the site rent is lower there.

The Mediterranean Tea Room remains an option for Middle Eastern food on Devine Street, but I find its hours to be really odd.

UPDATE 3 July 2008:

The new restaurant in the Al-Amir space, Saffron is open and has been for some weeks now. The Free Times is ambivalent.

UPDATE 12 April 2010: Added full street address to post title.

UPDATE 19 September 2011 -- Well, after the failure of Tabouli (which followed Saffron), Al-Amir is coming back. Did not see that one coming! Hat tip to my sister:

UPDATE 23 October 2012: Well, it is getting kind of complicated keeping track of the history of this building. First it was Al-Amir, then that closed (which was when I first made this post, the first ever closing on Columbia Closings!), then it was Saffron, then it was Tabouli, then it was Al-Amir again, and *now* it is Arabesque Mediterranean Cusine.

In this case, I think it is simply a name change. The phone number remains the same, as does the staff (who are still stumbling over the new name). I suspect this latest sobriquet can be explained by the yellow ABL Notice in the window. It's always been pretty clear that the Al-Amir restaurants would not serve alcohol.

Here's the deal: This blog is (mostly) about businesses in Columbia, SC which have closed.

How often have you gone to a favorite store or restaurant and found the doors locked and all the tables and chairs stacked against the back wall? Did you wish there was a place to vent about it, say how you saw it coming, or give the inside scoop on what happened? I'd like this to be that place.

As I notice businesses that have closed, I'll post entries on them. If I was a patron, I'll post a few thoughts, if I wasn't, I'll just note the passing. I hope that you, should anyone actually find this blog, can fill in the details with your comments.

In general, this blog will deal, as the title suggests, with Columbia SC. However, I also spend a good deal of time on the Grand Strand, so I won't hesitate to mention closings there, if it strikes my fancy. I also won't hesitate to make "remember when?" posts about places that closed years ago.

Update: I have closed comments on this post because I have moved the text to a "page", which will stay visible for the long term rather than scrolling off. Please leave any additional comments there.