Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

I'm pretty sure that this former paint store in the Big Lots strip mall on Two Notch near Spring Valley still had a Porter sign (as seen in the first picture) rather than the new PPG Paints name on it, but I can't tell for sure as it has been painted over better than usual (perhaps unsurprisingly) and I can't see any label scar in these photos.

I'm also not sure of the date, but I noticed it in early October, so I'm going with "September 2021".

This shopping center has done better than I would expect lately in making vacancies good, so we'll see if something else moves in soon.

This section of Two Notch is not actually on the main road, but is sandwiched between that and the railroad tracks, and is accessible only at or near the light for Spring Valley. I had done a closing for a bank in the area, but had never driven back towards the east where there is a tailor shop at the end of this spur.

This building is the last one before that shop, and as you can see from the pictures, is built on a bit of an incline, so the parking lot is noticably lower than the street. I like the building and the lot, and the lack of traffic -- it's a good place for a destination business. I'm not sure when the Pitts office moved, but I don't recall seeing the real estate sign before, so I'm going to just call it 2021. According to their door sign, you can now find them at 8313 Two Notch.

I'm not clear if Nutrition Warehouse and Carolina Barbell gym were co-located in this storefront, or if Carolina Barbell came afterwards, and google isn't helping me out. Either way, neither is there now.

I don't believe I had ever driven back into Sesqui Station, and none of it is visible from Two Notch, so I was rather surprised to see the size of the place, though it is hardly bustling now. As I recall there was quite a controversy about it back in the day as it was built on land carved out of Sesqui State Park -- something that really isn't supposed to happen.

I did not get around to getting pictures of this Sparkleberry Square Firehouse Subs location (sometimes known as Firehouse Subs Spring Valley) until all the signage was down and the building was fenced off. It seems likely to me that it is to be torn down though there are no signs up for whatever is to come.

(Hat tip to commenter Thomas)

UPDATE 28 January 2022 -- The canopy for the forthcoming Kroger gas station is up:

UPDATE 22 February 2022 -- Well the Kroger gas station is up and running. That was pretty quick!

Atlantic is the follow-on operation in this Two Notch storefront to Haverty's. That store closed in early 2018, and according to photos on Google maps, Atlantic opened there in December of the same year.

I have to say, after going into the lot for pictures, that the location is not very easy to get in and out of, especially if you are going East and the lot seems a bit small. Whether any of that is a factor, I don't know.

Given the dates listed on the (plentiful) roadside signs, it appears they want to wrap things up by the end of the month.

(Hat tip to commenter Thomas)

UPDATE 29 September 2021: Missed a picture:

UPDATE 13 March 2022 -- As mentioned in the comments, this building has been razed:

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I believe I first noticed this storefront adjacent to Very's when it was National-something-or-other, but I don't see anything about that in google. As of the start of March 2020, Regional was in the spot. As 2020 was a bad year for people being able to finance things, I'm guessing the knock-on from Covid took them out, but I don't know for sure. At any rate the slot is now open and available.

This men's clothing store has moved up Two Notch several blocks East, from this strip across from Columbia Mall to a storefront next to Nick's. As far as I can tell, the move came around June of 2021.

UPDATE 13 March 2022 -- Here is the new location:

For those of us of a certain age, this building is best know as the home of Continental Sound: That building that looks like a car radio with the "Sounds Real Good!" girl...

Since then it has been a number of things, with this most recent incarnation being an auto repair shop.

Given the street address on the county notice, and the specified size of the lot, I'm not sure if perhaps this property doesn't include the adjacent, defunct, nightclub as well.

I've only been in this charity thrift store once that I can recall. I needed a replacement VCR for one that had given up the ghost, and it was some years since they were a common item. I was pleased and surprised to find a whole shelf of them here, paired with the correct remotes. I picked up one and we got several years of good service from it.

I'm not sure if this closing is COVID related, or if they are remodeling or what, but the signs announce that they will return.

UPDATE 27 August 2021: Commenter Andrew reminds me that this was the former site of Spring Valley Ace Hardware, something I had completely forgotten, despite having done a closing on it.

As you can see from these two sets of pictures, the Circle K at the corner of Two Notch Road & the Trenholm Road Extension is closed, the pumps have been demolished, and apparently the storage tanks have been dug up, or that is the next step.

The store here was much smaller than the current Circle K style, and to me the lot does not look big enough to put in one on their new standard lines. In the case of a similar situation on Bethel Church, they removed the pumps and tanks and then put the building on the market. I expect they will do the same here, unless they go as far as razing the building entirely.

(Hat tip to commenter Thomas)

UPDATE 28 February 2023 -- As mentioned again by commenter Thomas, this building has now been razed:

UPDATE 29 March 2023: Updating tags.

UPDATE 16 January 2024 -- Now a Valvoline Instant Oil Change: