Archive for the ‘Forest Acres’ tag
Fatz Cafe, 5590 Forest Drive: 10 comments
Judging by reviews, this Fatz may have been closed on a temporary basis since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, but now they have made it permanent.
To the best of my memory, this location is the only Fatz at which I have eaten. It would have been while I was living out of town, in the late 1980s, or early 1990s I think, and I was not impressed. I remember distinctly thinking something like Secret Sauce?: Mayo!
Now, I may have come on the wrong night, or ordered the wrong thing, because the Yelp reviews of the three Fatz locations I have looked at (this one, the one on Broad River Road and the one in Conway) show plenty of people who used to love the chain. They also show a recent precipitous decline in perceived food quality, service levels and physical plant maintainence. I just guessing here, but there seems to be a viscious circle going on with declining income leading to a decline in the things that bring in income. (By the way, what's up with both Yelp and Google showing reviews in other than newest first order? The recent ones are kind of the most important!)
It will be interesting to see what happens to this location, because while it is at an Interstate exit, it really isn't that easy to get to.
(Hat tip to commenter Thomas)
UPDATE 25 May 2021 -- This spot is now setting up to be another crab restaurant, The Juicy Crab:
UPDATE 13 September 2021 -- The Juicy Crab is now open in this spot:
Stein Mart, 4840 Forest Drive: September 2020 2 comments
As noted by commenter Andrew and others, Stein Mart filed for Chapter 11 on 12 August 2020 and is expected to close most or all of its 281 stores across the country.
This story focuses on the Trenholm Plaza store, pictured above. A list of all of the announced store closings is here.
To the best of my recollection, I have never been inside this store, at least as Stein Mart. It is hard to say after so many years and upfits, but I believe this is the space once occupied by Tapp's Twig, a "smaller than a branch" storefront run by storied local department store Tapp's. If so, I would have been inside a number of times growing up.
Looking at the store closing list, I see the other local store is in Lexington, and I will try to get by before it is gone. In the meantime, the closing sale is already on, so we'll see if this location lasts into September.
(Hat tip to commenter Andew)
UPDATE 21 September 2021 -- Now a Spirit Haloween:
Pizza Hut (Takeout/Delivery), 4711 Forest Drive Suite 26: 2020 4 comments
I was at Baskin Robbins the other day, and noticed that the adjacent Pizza Hut delivery/take-out storefront was empty. I'm not sure when they left, but I know for sure they were there this time last year.
I used to go to Pizza Hut all the time, but I don't think I've been in one during the last five years, and didn't even consider this place for takeout during the crisis. I'm not sure when exactly they fell off my list, but there are so many options now. (For instance, I did use Marco's up the block several times for delivery during the lockdown -- it's not bad).
This plaza used to be called Forest Park, but I'm not sure it still is. The roadside marquee used to have an "FP" logo, but lately it has been replaced by whatever grocery store is in the main slot at the time.
UPDATE 26 June 2023: Updating tags.
Ed Robinson Laundry & Dry Cleaning, 1615 North Beltline Boulevard: 17 August 2019 no comments
It seems to me this nice little building in the little group at the corner of Beltline & Trenholm has been a number of cleaners over the years. I have it in my mind it was an Arnold Palmer's once, and google says it was a Masters fairly recently as well.
UPDATE 5 November 2020 -- This place is now Il Bucato, a takeout Italian joint, where [m]enu items at Il Bucato will include pizza, salads, hot subs and pasta dishes.
The story from ColaDaily is here.
The pictures below were taken during the final stage before opening:
Also adding a map icon..
Sinkhole, 4000 Trenholm Road: 14 October 2019 no comments
I'm sure you've all seen the video of this sinkhole that errupted on Trenholm Road in front of Mays Park on 14 October. If you haven't the WLTX clip is embedded above.
The State says it was the result of a 16 inch water main breach. As of Sunday 27 October, when I took these pictures, the road was still closed, though work was obviously ongoing.
AFC Urgent Care, 3304 Forest Drive: September 2019 2 comments
This urgent care beside Richland Mall had been up for sale a number of months, but continued to operate while that was ongoing. At this point it has either sold, or they have given up. At any rate AFC is now closed, and the building is undergoing renovations. The permits are made out in the name of a medical company, Prisma, so it is not clear to me if this is a completely new business coming in, or if AFC is part of Prisma and will be back after the upfit.
UPDATE 22 January 2020 -- Well, the construction is done (apparently), the branding is down, and the real-estate sign is out. The interior still looks like a doctor's office though:
Forest & Grant Photo Imaging, 3310 Forest Drive: August 2019 1 comment
I was not familiar with this photo services business in the little strip beside Richland Mall, but apparently it closed sometime in August. There is already a new operation setting up: Bad Daddy's Burger Bar which appears to be an up-and-coming chain of, well, burger bars. They apparently have locations in Greenville and the Low Country, but this will be the first location in the Midlands. I have to say the space seems rather small for a restaurant, and there's not a lot of parking either.
(Hat tip to commenter Mr. BO)
Wild Birds Unlimited, 4711 Forest Drive Suite 11: 2019 (Moved) 1 comment
I noticed yesterday when I took the pictures for the J. Peters post, that 2005 North Beltline is also the new location for Wild Birds Unlimited. I first noticed them when they moved from 3304 Forest Drive to this location in the Forest Park shopping center (If they still call it that) around 2010.
Now, they have moved on again, and this is the new storefront:
UPDATE 22 June 2022: Updating tags.
J. Peters Grill & Bar, 2005 North Beltline Boulevard: 14 June 2019 (Reflagged) 8 comments
I was driving down Beltline today, and noticed that J. Peters Grill & Bar in the old D's Wings location was gone.
In its place was J.R. Cash's Grill & Bar. A little google work found this story from Greenville establishing what happened. It seems that J. Peters was run by a partnership which has just split up. One partner retains the name, and most of the stores. The other partner gets four of the stores (including the two here in Columbia), but must rename them. The "new" business retains the same phone number, and according to the google reviews most of the menu. I'll note that the linked story is a little odd in that it only names one partner.
As for this particular J. Peters -- I only stopped there once. I spent an hour waiting for a cheese-burger. Apparently the only cook in the kitchen had just quit by walking out the door. I know that was atypical, but there are enough places for cheese-burgers that I never got around to going back.
Hobby Lobby, 5422 Forest Drive: 10 June 2019 (Moved) 17 comments
I was rather surprised by this closing, although East Forest Plaza has certainly had its share of turnover lately. The chain is pitching this as a relocation as noted in this press release, with the new location being at 2209 West Dekalb Street in Camden. I guess the management team could have relocated intact, but surely for the rank and file, those jobs are gone -- nobody is going to commute from Columbia to Camden.
(Hat tip to commenter Rashaad)