Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

According to WIS, Bella Vista closed their doors in late August filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

An update to the story notes that the owner plans to sell the inventory during the bankruptcy procedings. Unfortunately it seems that this inventory includes already spoken-for (and deposit-paid-on) wedding dresses for soon-to-be-brides. Certainly not a good situation. When I took these pictures on 8 September 2013, that sale had apparently yet to take place (though signs for it were in place), as the store, while closed, looked fully stocked.

The adjacent bakery, Lady Antoinette's, is apparently associated and also involved in the bankruptcy.

(Hat tip to commenter Tom)

Interesting tidbit in The Sun News.

Here's the thing, this store, the one at Pawleys Island / Litchfield Beach and the recently closed store on Garners Ferry Road are all relatively new and upscale stores. This one in Forest Park is especially nice, and the one at the beach is in the same class (though a bit smaller, I believe). When you're abandoning your best stores, that can't be a good sign.

I believe the El Cheapo branding for this Millwood laundromat is fairly recent. Before that, it was Suds or something like that. I don't think the convenience store was an El Cheapo until recently either.

At any rate, apparently both were now under the same ownership and failed together early this month.

I wonder if they will sell off the commercial washers -- those can be quite hardy units.

The Lexington franchaise of Candy Boquet was in this theater-themed storefront in the Flight Deck complex at the corner of Old Chapin Road and US-1. Just looking at the national webside makes me think of Edible Arrangements somewhat, though with the bonus that you don't have to eat your boquet before it goes bad.

I wonder what this storefront was originally? Perhaps a video rental store? Looking at the marquee in full resolution, you can see that there are words behind the current Or Lease text, but I can't really make it out.

Just as a side note, driving this section of US-1 is purely miserable in Lexington at this time. Just past The Flight Deck there is a bad section of roadwork exacerbated by unsyncronized lights.

(Hat tip to commenter James)

It's almost September -- got your spook on yet?

The last phonebook entry I have for Carolina Pools, Spas & Billiards (there are several different permutations of the name online) is the February 2005 phonebook. I don't have the Feb 2006 book, but it is definitely gone by the 2007 book, so I am going with a 2005 closing date. This little strip mall on Fernandina Road is now mostly known for Green's beverages, but I believe it was at one time anchored by a grocery in that spot. This unit is to the left of that, and as you can see here, is now a hot-spot for all you Halloween zombies, ghosts, ghouls, and naughty nurses.

According to the Lexington Patch, Goody 2 Shoes is a family owned and operated shoe store that specializes in children's footwear.

As commenter James mentioned a while back, they have been holding a very coloful going-out-of-business sale in recent weeeks. It appears that they went to the bare walls, and are now closed.

(Hat tip to commenter James)

Bumble Botique & Bee Maternal were really, as I understand it, one operation with the area under one nameplate specializing in kids' clothes and the area under the other specializing in maternity wear. Commenter Matt suggests the stores were doing OK, but were a sideline for the owners and eventually started to become too much to deal with.

I'm reasonably sure these are the storefronts previously anyway occupied by Corma's Health Foods and Bobby's Barber Shop though they have been extensively remodeled.

(Hat tip to commenter Matt)

Commenter James notes that bicycle shop Bike To Nature has pedaled across the street from its old location here at 5182 Sunset to the strip mall at 5175 Sunset. Commenter John R notes that this move (and the neighboring Enterprise move) are due to the prospective widening of Hope Ferry Road.

Apparently they have moved everything except the kitchen sink.

(Hat tip to commenter James)

UPDATE 17 February 2014 -- The original building (along with the adjacent Enterprise Rent-A-Car building) has now been demolished for construction:

Read the rest of this entry »

Here's the property listing for this little suite on Devine almost at the intersection with Millwood, and more or less across the street from the former Rice Music House.

I'm inclined to think the two fittness operations may have been connected, but when any of these were there is unclear. The names come up in google, but they are not in the last several years of phonebooks..