Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

I can't recall that I've ever stayed in a Rodeway Inn, the mental picture I have is of pretty basic accomdation, but this one, at least, had a pool on-site. This property started, I believe, as a Thunderbird Inn, a now nearly defunct chain with really cool signs. At some point thereafter, it was an Econo Lodge, as you can see in these pictures I took for the co-located Hilltop Restaurant closing.

Now, the Rodeway has closed, and they are doing asbestos abatement on the property, presumably in preparation to tear the whole place down. Google doesn't turn up any news stories, so I'm not sure what's next for this property.

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This building, in a former Clusters Of Whitehall outparcel, is a former TD Bank. After the bank moved, Insurance Masters set up shop and painted the building a nice cheery Blue Cross blue. For some reason, after they left the building was repainted with drab green, and currently sits empty.

Although LoopNet is not currently offering the property, they do state it was built in 1970, which means it certainly did not start as a TD Bank, as they only came to town within the last ten years or so. They also state the vault is still inside, which is not surprising, as those can be pretty hard to get rid of.

UPDATE 14 March 2022 -- Now Soda City Pharmacy & Compounding:

Aladdin occupied the spot formerly allocated to the Saint Andrews branch of Capitol Newsstand, and was apparently more of a grocery than a restaurant, at least according to both their name and their Yelp reviews.

I had thought they had closed several years ago, but I see they listed in the 2018 phonebook, so I will say "2018" for the closing date. They have been replaced by one of the inexplicable raft of new crab restaurants in town.

UPDATE 21 November 2020: Updated tags

As mentioned by commenter Andrew, Tripp's Fine Cleaners have closed their Saint Andrews Road location. Looking at their sign, I think the closest next location to here is probably the old Piggly Wiggly location on Lake Murray Boulevard.

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)

UPDATE 21 November 2020: Updated tags.

UPDATE 25 January 2022 -- Now Greedy Rascals, a hot dog arcade(?):

UPDATE 1 February 2024: Updating tags.

This was where I had my last Sandy dog, some time in the summer of 2019. It was good, and I remember thinking I should do that more often, but in the event never did.

I never ate at this Sub Station II. In fact I've only eaten at the chain twice that I can recall. I find that Jimmy Johns is my go-to sub place these days (unless I'm on the coast when it is Dagwood's). I'm not sure exactly when this place closed. They did post a new picture on their Facebook page on 10 December 2019, and a commenter there notes that as of 9 January 2020 they were closed, so I'm going with "December 2019.

What I find kind of ironic is that I have been notified at least three times that neighboring WG's Chicken Wings is closed, and each time I drive out there, I find it chugging along just fine..

(Hat tip to commenter Robert)

UPDATE 31 March 2022: Updating tags.

You can see why this office might want to move: being co-located with a departed convenience store of some kind is not ideal. Looking up the phone number, it appears they are now at 2700 Broad River Road, which is the plaza across the street from Rush's.

UPDATE 13 March 2023 -- Still no new tenant here, but the Liberty signage is down:

When I became aware of Firefly Toys & Games, it was because they had moved from their Sunset Boulevard location to this spot beside the Chef Store on Saint Andrews Road.

When I was diving that stretch of road recently, I noticed their storefront is now on the other side of the street in the old Fred's location. Looking at their Facebook page I was unable to determine exactly when they moved, but was able to determine that they have a lot going on! If you're into gaming at all, it looks like they have a meet-up for you.

UPDATE 17 December 2019 -- I had the date in the post title as '2019' for lack on anything better. Commenter Erick supplies the date "September 2018" and I have updated the title to reflect that.

I had this store confused with Michael's on the corner of Saint Andrews & Piney Grove, which is still open. This spot is a bit further up the street.

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)

UPDATE 6 April 2022 -- I'm not sure what happened in the intervening period -- I guess it must have opened again, but this place is going out of business once more:

One of the congratulatory graffiti on the windows of this Murraywood Centre personalized gifts store mentions that they have been in business for 26 years, which is certainly a good run and prelude to a well deserved retirement. Their Facebook page has some of the details.

It looks like the final sale is already ongoing, so you'd better get down there soon if you want to check it out.

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)