Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

Someone can probably look at the gas price signs and make a better guess at exactly when Socastee Mini Mart went under, but I'm pretty sure it was open last summer and not last November 13th (when these pictures were taken -- Unfortunately, it was not a sunny day).

The place is on SC-544, probably 5 miles on the Socastee side of Coastal Carolina. SC-544 is the handy little cut-through from US-501 to US-17 and can save you a lot of grief if you end up inbound to Myrtle by the north route. It's less useful than it used to be though, as there are now more lights and a constant 45MPH speed limit. For many years, the road had a real rural character, and this station is a holdover from that era. Now however the area is getting more and more built up, and "regular" chains are starting to move in.

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When I would eat at Ruby Tuesday, I would occasionally stop at this S-Mart BP (which I'm pretty sure started as a Hess) on my way home, especially since they tore down the Forest Drive Circle K. It was nothing special, though I always thought it was a bit odd that they had the "under seige"/"cashier in a cage" setup inside as the area doesn't seem especially bad to me.

I'm pretty sure that the number of pumps decreased over the last year or so, something I wondered about. It may be that the writing has been on the wall for a while..

When the ax did fall, they wasted no time getting the remaining pumps out of there, a process that usually takes a little while.

The side road to this place, Crowson Road is an odd little street that connects Devine with Fort Jackson Boulevard and also has a semi "back way" into K-Mart with a bridge over Gills Creek. It has always had sort of an unfinished/1960s vibe to me. I guess this is probably due mostly to the odd cluster of buildings, from the original Egg Roll Station building to the old buildings at the intersection with Fort Jackson Boulevard..

(Hat tip to commenter Badger)

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Well, another day, another closed gas station on The Sumter Highway. This one is recent though, closing some time in March I think, though it can probably be figured accurately from the gas prices.. While I was taking these shots, the guy from the adjacent Subway came over and wanted to know if I was looking to buy the building. I'm not sure I ever did convey exactly what I was doing (which really doesn't make much sense to any rational person).

I like the canopy here, and the way it slightly "vees" rather than being completely flat as most new ones are. I think most modern construction has lost something. Notice too that the pumps have analog/mechanical displays. The one for 89 octane looks as though it was not happy to get up into the $3 range. Also note, one of the common features of a recently closed business: The new phonebook parked against the door.

As an added bonus, the drive home from here was very scenic:

(Hat tip to someone whose comment I can no longer find)

UPDATE 24 November 2014 -- The Hot Spot is open again (and apparently has been for some time):

UPDATE 22 January 2017 -- This place has now re-flagged as O M Mart:

UPDATE 31 January 2023: Adding map icon.

I noticed this abandoned gas station a few weeks ago coming back into town on the Sumter Highway. It sits where US-378 (The Sumter Highway) and SC-764 meet at a fork in the road.

I'm sure that the painting on the facade is sufficient to identify what brand of station it was, but I'm drawing a blank on it right now, and as often as I have driven (or ridden..) that road since the 1960s, I'm almost certain I never stopped there.

These pictures were taken about 5 minutes too late -- Just before I got to the area, the sun had broken through the storm clouds for that glorious late-afternoon-post-storm light you get sometimes, but by the time I started snapping, the clouds were already rolling back in. I wish I had the honey-suckle pumps in that light..

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There's been a lot of speculation in Have Your Say lately as to whether Branham's Exxon at the corner of Devine & Ott is open or not.

I think the answer is probably: It's open, but it's not Branham's. Commenter Nobody saw a sign there to the effect that it was closing 24 March 2012 after 35 years, but when I drove by, I saw the station open and with people actively filling their cars. A closer inspection on a later Sunday trip reveals that the streetside sign now says:

Gas Pumps Open
Thank You
Keenan Oil Co

while the other sign of the sign says that the "shop" (which could be the convenience portion, the auto bay portion, or both) is temporarily closed.

It appears that the station has been sold to Keenan which is, for the nonce at least, running it as a gas-only station. I certainly wish the owners a nice retirement, but it's sad to see another of the very few "mechanic on duty" stations left close. In fact, the only other one that comes to mind right now is Null's Exxon on Two Notch.

UPDATE 5 February 2013: It's now a Gaz-bah:

I think Walker's Service Center remains in business while they try to sell the building (which to my memory has been on the market for years), but obviously they were not the first tenant here in what was a service station of some sort.

The architecture is distinctive enough that I ought to be able to name it easily, but in the event it's slipping my mind, and I will update the post title when either someone identifies it, or I remember to look it up at the library. These full service gas stations use to be just about the only ones you saw, and with cars so much more fragile in those years, that made sense. Now they are a dying breed, and with the closure of Forest Lake Exxon I can only think of a few left in town.

UPDATE 23 February 2012: Updated post title from "Gas Station" to "Abbot's Texaco" based on the comments.

UPDATE 13 June 2017 -- Now Pete's Mobile Auto & Truck Repairs:

The middle route from Columbia to the Grand Strand takes you through Manning on SC-261. US-521 joins 261 there, and they run together until just east of Manning where 261 forks North to Kingstree and 521 continues on to Greeleyville.

Historically rest stops between Manning and Greeleyville have been pretty sparse, so perhaps that's why I especially noticed this rather lavish little gas plaza when it was constructed just a few years ago a little East of the 261/521 fork. That, and the fact that any sign with the word "pizza" on it tends to concentrate my attention.

While the right confluence of events hadn't ever happened, I figured it was a pretty sure thing that sooner or later I would be stopping at Tanners. Well, that was true, but not for the reasons I'd anticipated -- I noticed earlier this year that the place, which had started on such a large scale (this wasn't your typical no-name, one-guy, rural convenience store) so recently was well and truly gone.

I don't know if it turned out that US-521 wasn't as major a road as they had figured, but even with gas, pizza, bait and an attached liquor store as draws apparently the traffic wasn't there. LoopNet on the other hand, says they cleared $78,000 and 100,000 gallons monthly, so who knows?

At any rate, the road between Manning and Greeleyville is pretty empty again.

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This old-school Exxon on Two Notch near the I-20 interchange, and O'Neil Court is currentl Go Used Tires, but apparently that will only last until the sale of the building, which is currently on offer.

This is a classic look for an Esso/Exxon of that era. Here is a similiar one (which I believe stayed open longer) in Yulee Florida:

Hopefully the Two Notch building will not be razed, but given the age, I wouldn't bet on it.

UPDATE 5 December 2011: Added Esso to the post title based on the comments.

UPDATE 10 October 2016 -- The Two Notch building continues to deteriorate. I don't see how the next operation won't raze it. I also note the sheltered area looks to have been something of a homeless campout:

I have to admit that when commenter badger mentioned this place (at the corner of State & Frink Streets) was closed, I had never even heard of Frink Street. As it turns out, I have crossed over it on my way down the 12th Street extension to I-77, but I'm pretty sure I had never actually been on it before this last Sunday. In terms of this blog, it presents something of a "target rich environment". Does anyone know where the interesting (and fun-to-say) name comes from?

From the look at the layers on the roadside sign, I'm guessing this place was a Philips 66 before anything else in the list, with that name being painted over for the Bait & Tackle name. The Secretary of State's web site says that Cayce Bait & Tackle went under in 2004, in some sort of forfeiture, and was followed by the Frink Street Social Club which has never been officially dissolved. I'm not sure if B & B would be the connected with the club or not, but kudos to them for not using the trendy (and incorrect) Grille spelling in their name..

(As an aside, the "look" of this building would tend to validate this one as a Philips 66).

(Hat tip to commenter badger).

UPDATE 12 June 2011: Commenter badger sends in this picture of the "Lizard Woman" mural that once graced Cayce Bait & Tackle:

Thanks!

But of course, I must remind folks of the real story of South Carolina's lizard infestation, related by my sister (who changed names to protect the innocent) in her book, The Lizard Man of Crabtree County

UPDATE 6 February 2012: Added Cayce Lunch to the post title based on information from commenter Sid whose family used to own the place -- be sure to read the comments! Also, apparently the Philips 66 was a separate building (now gone?).