Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

Well, this may be the final Bi-Lo closing, unless I go farther afield. This store on US-378 started out as a Piggly Wiggly more than twenty years ago, and now with the sale of Bi-Lo has come full circle. It's nice to see a new Pig open, as that chain has been having its own problems. It seems that the crew who wanted to stay on were able to, which is nice. ColaDaily has the story.

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)

I stopped at this Bi-Lo on Sunday, and while it was rapidly emptying out, there was still a good bit there, and they hadn't started randomly consolidating the shelves. I picked up some long lasting sundries like shampoo, hot sauce & spices at a 15% discount.

According to The Post & Courier, this store is not going to be converted into a Food Lion and there are no current plans for a new tenant in the building.

(Hat tip to commenter Alan, and possibly others -- there has been a lot of talk about Bi-Lo).

UPDATE 13 December 2021: Now a Food Lion:

See here for the story.

According to The State Adrenaline trampoline park opened on 26 May 2018 in the old Piggly Wiggly building. I used to love trampolines, always trying to visit King's Funland when at Pawleys, but I have to admit the thought of getting on one now would scare me to death. That's gravity and middle age for you!

I know my niece went to this location at least once, and actually had another free pass that she never got around to redeeming. Now, of course, it's too late. Adreneline has been closed since the start of the lockdown, and sometime in the last month or so, they announced they would not be coming back.

I'm not sure what the deal with the tiger was.

(Hat tip to my sister)

I first wrote about this building when the plans for Fresh Market to open there fell through. After that, and a little scrambling, the Publix supermarket chain decided it would be a good location for their Greenwise concept:

Publix Supermarkets is opening a new type of grocery store in Lexington soon.

“We’re creating a community gathering place where high-quality natural and organic products are at the center of what we offer,” said Publix President Kevin Murphy. “And we’re helping our customers support their healthy lifestyle with convenient in-house prepared meals and grab and go options made from organic and antibiotic-free ingredients.”

The place opened in December of 2019, and will be closing well shy of the one year mark:

Basically it seems the building was just too small, which is unsurprising given the standard Fresh Market footprint.

The employees will have the option to move to local Publix locations, which is nice.

I never went in the store though I was a bit curious and figured I eventually would. I will say however, that I do not like the way the parking and traffic flow for the enclosing strip mall is laid out at all.

(Hat tip to commenter Heath)

UPDATE 18 June 2022 -- It looks like Prisma Health will be going into this site:

This little building on Sunset in Lexington ceased being a Domino's in January of 2019, and by May of that year, Little Caesars had moved in. Given the mess of 2020, and how many times I have personally ordered carry-out or delivery pizza (which I normally never do), I am surprised that the place has already closed.

Some commenters have pointed out that it is directly next door to a Mellow Mushroom, and that's true, but on the other hand Mellow Mushroom was closed for a long time during the first stage of the crisis, even for takeout.

(Hat tip to commenter ED).

According to ColaDaily, corporate is reluctant to declare this location gone for good, but everybody else agrees that it is another permanent casualty of the COVID-19 crisis.

I believe I have only eaten at this IHOP once. As I mentioned in my closing for the Assembly Street location, I started having constant issues at the downtown store after the rebuild, so one late night I drove out to Lexington instead. I found it a much more pleasant experience, but the distance involved meant I did not do it again.

(Hat tip to commenter Heath)

UPDATE 7 June 2021 -- As mentioned, this place is somewhat unexpectedly open again under new ownership:

I can't find out exactly when Floor Boys moved to 1728 North Lake Drive, but I'm thinking it was probably last year, or I would have noticed it sooner.

LoopNet says the building was put up in 1994 and that it sits on 27 acres with a warehouse, which I certainly would not have guessed. To me it looks more like it was originally built as a house, but it does have that front entrance canopy.

Here's another Long's Drugs, this one in Hopkins not far from Lower Richland High School.

The story is the same for all Long's locations: The chain decided to exit the retail pharmacy business.

I had not realized there was a branch of Richland Library in this strip. I believe it must be the smallest location in the county.

Miyo's of Lexington was already planning to close at the end of March 2020 to make way for a Chipolte. I don't know if the current crisis advanced that date at all. ColaDaily has the story, which, essentially is that the lease was up, and they decided not to renew.

(Hat tip to commenter Heath)

UPDATE 20 August 2020 -- Chipolte is now open here: