Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

This small urban clothing botique is in the storefront that was the final location for Forest Lake TV. It's listed in the February 2015-2016 phonebook(*), and I think I would have noticed it being vacant for many months as I drive by there several times a week, so I'm going to peg the closing as "late 2015".

(*) For some reason I still have not received a February 2016-2017 phonebook..

As best I can tell from their Facebook page, Fabuless Boutique probably closed sometime early in 2015, or at least the last post there is from December 2014.

I noticed the space for lease as I was driving by in late December 2015, so that makes this vacancy about a year in length, though the Murraywood Centre in general seems to be doing fairly well.

Commenter mamarose notes the upcoming closing of Jack and Jane Sport in Trenholm Plaza.

I have to admit that since I don't like clothes shopping and since nobody has ever mistaken me for someone who does sports, I couldn't place this storefront in my mind and had to drive around the plaza looking for it. In the event, it turns out to be in the suite formerly occupied by La Bag Lady which closed in 2012.

It appears to be chilly in there.

(Hat tip to commenter mamarose)

Well, learn something new every day. Googling this western and urban wear outlet on Decker yields the information that El Rey Leon, means The Lion King, something that make total sense once you stop to look at it closely.

Of course that just raises the further question as to how that phrase is supposed to suggest western wear, and the secondary question as to whether I should alphabetize this one under El or Rey. (Hmm, I see the phonebook uses 'El', so that's good enough for me..).

You can sort of see Lane Bryant in operation at the Shoppes At Woodhill if you click-through and peer behind the trees in the first shot.

Judging from the 2014 phonebook, where they still list this location, this shop must have departed in the first part of the year. I've been over there several times to eat at Ci-Ci's, but I just can't remember as my eyes automatically skip over clothing stores. I was a bit surprised to see that this wing of the plaza has a Pelham Drive address, I would have expected all the buildings to piggyback off the Garners Ferry number used by the Panera wing.

Well, a Columbia tradition since 1920 is gone. In fact I can only remember going into Moe Levy's once or twice back in the 1970s on shopping trips with cousins. At the time, I liked shopping for clothes even less than I do now so the place was not a magnet for me, but I was always aware of it as we drove past. I also remember in my earlier days conflating the constant signage for Levi's jeans there with the store name itself and wondering if Moe Levy invented blue jeans.

As I recall, the store had a closing scare a few years ago at which point I took some of these pictures. I forget exactly what happened, but obviously they did not close then. As for now, The State reports that most of the block has been bought by local developer Ben Arnold who hopes to bring a national retailer or restaurant to the Moe Levy's location.

Read the rest of this entry »

This clothing storefront in Landmark Square has apparently been vacant since circa 2006. There is currently a Simply Fashion in Edens Plaza on Beltline (the Piggly Wiggly plaza), but it looks to have shown up a few years after this one closed, so I don't think it counts as a move.

Currently Landmark Square does have a fashion shop, It's Fashion Metro which moved into the old Jo-Ann Fabrics location.

I don't know anything about Fashion Cents other than a google search on 6860 Garners Ferry brings it up. If it really was here, it must have been prior to the February 2005 phonebook.

At one time Urban Thread was on both sides of Harden Street: Here and in the old American Apparel storefront as Urban Tread & More.

Then they consolidated the & More store with this one a bit more than a year ago, and now the consolidated (and original) store has closed its doors as well.

Interestingly, Urban Thread seems to be a Gainesville operation which I did not know. I had assumed it was Columbia based.

(Hat tip to commenter Mike d)

Here's a two suite consignment shop in the little Irmo strip that has figured so often here over the past week or so. One more, and I think we're done..

UPDATE 6 October 2021: Adding "North" to "Woodrow Street" in the title & tags. Adding map icon.

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)