Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

I was downtown today, and decided I would have lunch at Barberitos. I had forgotten about feeding the meters, but scrounged up enough coins to last me until I got some change from my meal and walked around the corner, to find the place is now a Jersey Mike's (somewhat visible in the first shot).

I had done a closing for the Lexington location, and I should have checked on this one earlier. In retrospect it makes sense it would close as well, since they were apparently under the same ownership (both electing to offer ground turkey rather than the ground beef of other Barberitos locations).

The last Yelp review is 1 November 2017 and mentions that the place was already closed, so I'm guessing it did close the same time as Lexington.

It's too bad, I consider Barberitos a step above Chipolte & Qdoba, though below a well-run Moe's.

Hampton Street Diner opened on 3 December 2017 in the former location of Nathan's. By the time I got around to the Nathan's closing, most of the Hampton Street Diner upfit was already done, so I am repeating those pictures here.

The State had this story about the (then upcoming) opening of the new restaurant.

Although it looked like a good place to try a burger, I never did make it by for lunch, and the last time I drove by, there was signage to the effect of either new management or new ownership, so apparently there was a major change at some point.

I do like the parting sentiment that while not everything works out, life goes on.

(Hat tip to commenter Frank)

UPDATE 9 January 2020 -- Now Vegans International Organic Cafe & Juice Bar:

Well, here's a bit of synchronicity. Friday 24 August 2018 was the first time I had ever happened to be in West Columbia, near JackSon's Southern Kitchen at (my) lunch time, so I decided I would finally check the place out.

Pulling in, it seemed to be dark, and there was a sign taped to the door, so I was going to get out and look at it, but then I noticed that the lunch hours during the week were only until 2:30, and it was 3:00, so I figured I had just missed it and drove on. I got home that evening, and people were already posting in Have Your Say that the place had closed down due to legal woes.

Here's the story from WIS (For some reason, they seem to have trimmed most of the text that was originally there).

You may recall that JackSon's started in Richland Mall and moved to Sunset Boulevard in 2016

UPDATE 4 May 2021 -- As reported by commenter Barbara reports, this storefront is undergoing a major upfit. Unfortunately, the construction sign is singularly unhelpful in telling what is to come:

Also adding a map icon.

Driving US-401 through Society Hill recently, I noticed that Johnnie's Truck Stop had closed. When I lived in Fayetteville, I would drive this stretch of road between there and Columbia semi-freqently (though less once the Interstate 55mph speed limit was raised). I don't know that I ever stopped at Johnnie's, but I was aware of it as there certainly was not much else in the area.

The Hartsville Messenger says:

For many travelers over the years, a trek through Society Hill has meant a stop at Johnnie’s Truck Stop Restaurant. For the local residents, it’s more than a place to stop and eat. It’s a place to share a morning cup of coffee and catch up on the latest news and gossip, a place where people greet you with a smile and treat you more like family than customers.

On Sunday, the local establishment will serve its last meal.

Last week, customers got word that owners J.W. and Sandra Jacobs were retiring. The couple has operated Johnnie’s Truck Stop Restaurant, a full service restaurant in Society Hill, for 41 years.

“We never had an official grand opening and will not have a grand closing but because of your patronage we have had a grand experience in the 41 years in between,” wrote JW and Sandra Jacobs in an open letter to all of their customers in announcing their retirement after Christmas.

Johnnie’s Truck Stop has been in the Jacobs family since 1967 when J.W.’s father, William Andrew “Andy” Jacobs took it over. J.W. was working at Sonoco when his father asked him to go into business with him. J.W. said his father helped him get his feet on the ground then left it up to him to carry on the family business.

The story also mentions that the restaurant stayed open during Hurricane Hugo, and cooked (with gas) for the emergency crews even though they had no electricty.

I have to say the place looks very good for apparently having been closed for six years, and wonder if somebody else took it on for a while after the owners retired. In fact, judging from the issue of Mid Atlantic Truck Paper that we can see in one picture, that would seem to date to 2014 (given that 2018 is volume 27 and the issue in the store is volume 23).

UPDATE 19 October 2018 -- Commenter Robby points out that this store was part of the small-ish Southern 500 Truck Stop chain, which had locations here in Society Hill, Elm City NC, Mt. Airy NC and Charlotte. Here is a Flickr album of the remaining three buildings, including this one, here are some memories of the chain, and here you can buy a picture of the Charlotte store operating through a blizzard.

Uncle Maddio's was the follow-on in this location for Jasmine Deli & Cafe and opened sometime in 2013. I never ate there, and had not realized until looking at this post that in fact Uncle Maddio's is a chain of franchaises based in Atlanta, and is another fast casual pizza concept like Persona, Blaze, and Firenza.

Looking at the company web site, it appears this was the only South Carolina location, and the next closest is in Charlotte.

Well, I'm not sure what is going on here. The sign is extremely uninformative, and there is no sign of work being done inside or out. I hit the Forest Acres' Zoe's from time to time for the Greek salad, but have never visited this location.

UPDATE 31 August 2018 -- Removed the "temporary" from the post title based on the comments.

UPDATE 31 August 2018 -- The State reports it as a restroom issue (in that the store had none) though parts of the reporting contradict that..

UPDATE 1 September 2022: Editing tags and adding map icon.

The signage still posits this closing as temporary, but the Free Times has verified that it is, in fact, permanent.

This spot has been the home of a number of restaurants over the years, including Capitol Cafe, Cat & Cleaver, Dunkin' Donuts (almost), Fever, and Roll Call Deli.

I never ate at Persona due to the fact that I rarely go downtown at lucnch time, and would go some place with parking if I did. I will say that I would not use that name for a restaurant as the first thing I think of is Persona Non Grata..

(Hat tip to commenter Tom)

UPDATE 7 October 2020 -- Well oddly enough, this place is unchanged after a bit more than two years. The signage is still up, and the interior looks almost exactly as it did when it closed, down to the delivery moped. The chairs have been tabled though:

Also adding the map icon.

UPDATE 8 February 2022 -- They have finally taken down the Persona signage, but have left the possibility that the storefront might be some sort of wood fired pizza in the future:

I don't believe I ever at at this Applebee's, though I was certainly aware it was there. In general, I find the chain to be a decent late night spot for a good burger though they are a bit stingy with the fries.

Judging from the sign, I guess the Two Notch, Blythewood & Devine Street stores must be under different ownership.

UPDATE 12 May 2020 -- As pointed out by commenter Andrew, this is now Pon.Di.River Caribbean Bistro (assuming it makes the transition out of COVID-19 closure):

(Hat tip to commenter Ken)

Judging from their Facebook page, Holly's Famous Hot Dogs sadly had a death in the family last summer, and have not reopened.

(Hat tip to commenter Kc)

UPDATE 15 February 2022 -- Now (Tameleria) Taqueria La Poblanita:

Also adding map icon.

Somehow after all these years, I've never made it into a Piggie Park. Probably because I convinced myself at an early age that I didn't like barbecue (I've revised my opinion a bit), and didn't really realize they had other Southern items.

The State says the property is to become a car dealership. I would guess used cars.

The Clemson Road and Dentsville locations remain open.

(Hat tip to commenter Harry etc)

UPDATE 22 September 2020: Updating tags, adding map icon.