Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

According to The State, Club Twist, which was essentially the latest incarnation of the troubled The Library nightclub closed for good in late May. The club had been seen as a magnet for trouble in recent years, and the Richland County Sheriff's office had long taken a dim view of it. Curently the space is mostly empty and for rent.

Doggone!

(Hat tip to commenter Mike d)

Well, here's another Five Points froyo operation closing shop. Winter can't be kind to such places. This one was in a nice new brick building at the corner of Santee & Blossom on the former Kenny's lot.

(Hat tip to commenter Mike d)

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)

Commenter MB reports that Liberty Pizza in the old Pop's location is closed. After peering inside, I would like to ammend that report: Liberty Pizza is not mearly closed, but truly most sincerely closed:

(Hat tip to commenter MB)

I think I last saw The Swimming Pool Qs on this stage about 1989. I guess they were touring in support of World War Two Point Five, the club was Rockafellas' and Ann Richmond Boston was on temporary hiatus.

Of course, by that time I had seen them several times, first, I think, at a Fourth of July concert at Bell Camp. Over the years they have always put on a great show, and Jake's was no exception. The mix could have been a bit better at times, but the performance was topnotch. I was a bit tentative about going into Five Points on a weekend night given all the recent events, but if anything was going on down the hill, it didn't make it up to Jake's and the crowd was, as you might expect, a bit older than the club norm.

I think this was the first time I've been to a show in Columbia proper since the smoking ban was passed, and while the libertarian in me chafes at it, it was great not to have to shed all my clothes into the washer and jump into the shower the moment I got home. (And great to be able to actually breathe the next day..).

Given that I don't think the Qs are the band's "day job" anymore, it's not too surprising that it takes a long time to get new music out, but I spoke a little with Jeff Calder and he said work is ongoing on the next album (after 2003's Royal Academy of Reality and that in fact a new EP will be out sometime this month. You should check Qs' web site for "The System Of Love".

In the meantime, you should definitely have the (long awaited) re-issue of their two A&M albums:

And the evening's most surprising event? I got a wet sloppy kiss from a drunk girl who was apparently under the impression I was a Q. I still can't figure that one out.

Having a bar called The Library is an old tradition in college towns. Whether it actually happens, or just the notion is enough to hang a name on, the idea is that the hard partying student will truthfully tell his parents he's spending a lot of time at the library.

Recently, in Columbia, that tradition is reported to have taken a nasty turn. Five Points has been having a terrible year as far as crime goes, and according to The State, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lot called out The Library by name:

Lott says he sent both uniformed and undercover officers to Columbia's Five Points on Oct. 26. He says the officers found a number of gang members hanging out at a bar called The Library and other people hanging out looking for fights or to rob people.

Shortly thereafter, The State reported:

The owner of a Columbia nightclub that the sheriff says is a hangout for gang members says he could be forced to close.

Justin Kershner of The Library nightclub says he was told by the state revenue department that he must pay $18,000 in back taxes by 2 p.m. Friday or give up his permits to sell beer, wine and liquor.

Finally, The State Reports:

The Library nightclub is closed indefinitely

.....

The decision to close came a day after he said paid his back taxes and was trying to figure out how to get back into the good graces of local law enforcement.

Because of trees, it is difficult to get a good picture of The Library building from across Harden, and even on the right side of the road, the view is still a bit obstructed. When I took the first set of pictures, the signs for The Library were still up, if not easily visible. When I took the night pictures, the signage had already come down, and there was a crew inside that looked to be cleaning the place out.

UPDATE 7 December 2013: Added Don's Marching & Music Society to the post title, and check the comments for a not from the original "Don"!

To the best of my recollection, I've never eaten at any establishment in this Five Points storefront, to include San Jose, though I have certainly eaten at other local San Jose locations, and found them to be perfectly OK.

Commenter MB noted the closing, and pointed out that until fairly recently it was Mucho Margaritas, something I must have driven by many times without it registering at all. Already today the sign was down and folks were carting off the fixtures. With the recent closure of Dreams Of Bombay, there are now two adjacent restaurant vacancies in this building. (I don't know what, if anything, is in the upper storey).

(Hat tip to commenter MB)

UPDATE 1 July 2014 -- This will next be the bacon themed restaurant Sizzle. Mmm, Bacon!:

UPDATE 25 January 2023: Add tags and map icon.

Red Hot Tomatoes was the most recent business in the old 5 Points Theatre on Harden Street. The first shot above is from 2009. I'm not sure exactly when it closed, but the 2 Fat 2 Fly truck was listing the location as "Old red hot tomatoes" as of March 2013.

In the grand cycle of reintarnation, the place is now another watering hole called Overtime Sports Bar.

I noticed last month while eating with relatives on the sidewalk at Yesterdays that Good For The Sole has moved from the corner suite at 631-D behind the sculpture to the old Leon's Books / Five Points Nails & Spa location at 631-C.

(And, yes, we did get panhandled..)