Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

M Boutique on Devine Street has closed its doors in preparation for a move to the new Whole Foods complex.

Of course that shopping center isn't anywhere near ready to occupy:

so the new location isn't scheduled to open until October, meaning that there will be no revenue coming in for 4+ months -- it seems very odd timing.

(Hat tip to commenter Mary Douglass)

Here's another storefront on that odd little strip of Devine Street which also housed Brassworks, Le Petit Chateau, and a number of other businesses from days gone by.

As you can see from the hairdresser's sink at the back of the space, Dianna's was the last operation in here. These pictures were taken on 16 December 2011, so they were already gone by then, but they are listed in the February 2012 phonebook, so I'm guessing they did not close too long before that.

The operation before Dianna's was Liberty Tax Service, which, I believe, did not close, but simply moved down the street a bit.

Here's yet another Payday loan storefront that is no longer with us. This one is in the Bi-Lo/Staples plaza at the confluence of Devine, Cross Hill and Fort Jackson Boulevard. (Curiously, this strip mall does not seem to have a name, or at least not one on its marquee.)

Not that this closing leaves the place without a loan operation -- this is where Capitol Loan Office moved to from Main Street. And also note that if you lease this space, you apparently get a free MoneyGram neon sign, which is kind of nifty.

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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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:

Commenter (and blogger) April pointed out this closing of yet another Columbia restaurant I knew nothing about. From her review, it sounds like a nice place, if probably a bit tony for me.

I've heard the phrase "objects of virtu" before (probably in an SF story), and according to the always accurate Wikipedia:

The Italian humanist Giovanni Pontano described these objects as "statues, pictures, tapestries, divans, chairs of ivory, cloth interwoven with gems, many-coloured boxes and coffers in the Arabian style, crystal vases and other things of this kind . . . [whose] sight . . . is pleasing and brings prestige to the owner of the house." They all spoke to the wealth, taste and virtu of their owner.

-- John Brewer, The Pleasures of the Imagination

Judging from the way the peeling front awning reveals a palimpsest Dianne's, I suspect this whole space was once part of Dianne's, but since I've never visited that place either, I can't say for sure.

(Hat tip to commenter April).

I noticed this little building on the south side of Devine while I was taking pictures of Hardcore Tennis. Wedding invitations and stationery are things I have 1) never needed or 2) seldom needed, but apparently Jot Stationery Design Studio specializes in both.

With the New Year, they have moved to 3140 Carlisle Street, as described in this post from their blog. Apparently, before Jot moved in, this location was an optician, Devine Eyes, and an arts & crafts store, In The Loop.

UPDATE 1 February 2012: Added Manya, a women's clothing store, to the post title based on the comments and this.

Here's a nice little Main Street storefront that was a jewelers at one time -- notice the "display case" window on the right front side.

Colonial Finance was the last operation there, and apparently decamped to the Bi-Lo strip mall on Devine Street at the end of August 2011. I got the name Reyner's Jewelers from a 1948 Columbia Bible College yearbook which is on line for keywords, but which I can't really see without joining a yearbook site. However, notice that you can still see part of the name in the flooring in one of the pictures.

The building as a whole (not just this storefront) is apparently the "Berry Building", the site of the old Berry's On Main.

UPDATE 2 February 2012 -- Here is Colonial Finance's Devine Street location:

Hardcore Tennis was a tennis stringing and apparel store in the old Ben & Jerry's location on Devine Street. The building as a whole (2901 Devine Street) has had quite a few turnovers in recent years, including the aforementioned ice cream shop, Birds On A Wire, and Simply Savory.

Judging by their web site (which has lots of good pictures), Hardcore was the Columbia branch of a still existing Atlanta operation. This 20 December 2011 blog post mentions the closing of the Columbia store, but says local stringing will still be available into April.

Of course, I still think if you want fun game with racquets and a net, badminton is the way to go.

(Hat tip to commenter south mauldin)

This little, much bar-ed, building is on Fort Jackson Boulevard, at Crowson Road, near the former Check World, and Jesudi's and across the street from La Brasca.

As far as I can tell, El As De Oros means "The Golden Ace", and Bar La Movida means something like "Party Bar" or "Groovy Spot Bar".

El As De Oros applied for their liquor license in 2004, which puts a timeframe on that operation. I am unsure of the status of Bar La Movida. When I took these shots, I was sure it was closed, but they applied for a liquor license in April of this year (2011), so it's possible I just never drive by late enough to see anyone there. The only data point I have on Bullwinkle's is that it was listed in the February 1997 phonebook and I don't know anything about RB's at all.