Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

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:

Carolina Cafe in Westland Square on Sunset Boulevard, which had been in this location since 2014, closed in early December so the owners could concentrate on their downtown business at 925 Sumter Street in Cornell Arms, according to ColaDaily.

The new owner already had plans for the spot, so the storefont did not sit empty for long, and is now open again as Sunshine Cafe & Catering, though the marquee sign has yet to be fully adjusted. ColaDaily noted the opening:

Sunshine Café, located at 2250 Sunset Blvd. in the Westland Shopping Center, will still offer beloved menu items like fresh-baked bagels and paninis, similar to the previous restaurant. However, owner Shutondia Culcleasure said Sunshine Cafe will be incorporating a “sweeter side” to the menu.

“We’ll have a variety of cheesecakes, red velvet, German chocolate, just a whole sweeter side to the bakery,” she said.

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)

I noticed when I was at Shoney's today, that the adjacent Interstate Battery Center had closed, and was being gutted. The signage is off the building, though for now the road sign remains.

You can't tell it from these shots, but if you look at google maps, you can see from the drive-through on the east side of the building that this was pretty clearly a bank at one time, though I don't know of what stripe.

UPDATE 4 March 2020: Added Standard Federal Savings & Loan to the post title based on the comments.

UPDATE 2 September 2020 -- This place is about to open as a Nick's Gyros & Seafood:

This Sandy's was in Lexington in the same plaza as McAlister's Deli. I never ate at this one -- If I'm going to drive out to this area to eat, it's probably Uno.

Here again is a story on the owner's retirement.

I believe I have now covered all of the Sandy's locations that were open until the end. As I recall, there was a location on Parklane once, maybe I'll try to find that building someday.

This store closed at the same time as the Parkland Plaza store, but I kept forgetting to get pictures of it until it caught my eye the other night. As of now, six months later, the building is still to be re-purposed. WLTX has the story of the chain's foreclosure.

When the Hardee's co-located with this S-Mart closed last year, I figured it was some sort of issue specific to that franchaise, or Hardee's in general, but with the closing of the S-Mart as well, it seems more like perhaps the restaurant lease was just up first and there are plans to re-purpose the whole property.

Looking at the work going on, it appears to be an extensive re-model, but not a demolition and re-build.

(Hat tip to commenter Ed)

UPDATE 4 February 2020 -- Now open as a 7-11/Exxon/Burger King:

UPDATE 2 October 2023: Updating tags.