Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

There's been a bit of speculation on Have Your Say about whether D. L. McLaughlin's in Irmo is closed or not. Judging from the signage on the building, both of the practical "For Sale" and the sentimental "Thanks for the memories" type, and adding in the Facebook page, I think I can say that it definitely is.

In the event, I think I only ate here once. I was a fan of the old Sub Cabin in West Columbia, and this was either the follow-on or sibling to that operation, but even though it was good, it was just too far for me to go.

Anyone know the story of the archer on the coat-of-arms?

The Rssell & Jeffcoat buildings have a distinctive style, and I have noticed several of them vacant recently. It turns out, according to The State, that the firm was purchased last year by the parent of Coldwell Banker, and if you squint, you can see the "We have moved" sign under the Coldwell Banker branding in the first picture.

UPDATE 16 June 2022: Updating tags, adding map icon.

Another Irmo area note from commenter Homer today:

It's not every day that I need a vehicle serviced so I had no idea that
this business had closed. Tony, the owner, passed away in October and
the family decided not to keep going. I didn't realize it but they had
been in business for 40 years. These guys were top notch when it came to
auto repair. I used to take my old Corvette in there for service and
Tony, Woody and all the guys there always did me right. A lot of people
are going to miss this place!!

I remember a shop in Fayetteville that clearly hadn't even looked at the reason I brought the car in when they called me to pick it up. Always nice to find someone who knows what they are doing!

(Hat tip to commenter Homer, of course)

Today's post is for a place of which I was totally unaware and comes from commenter Homer:

[This] is a group of pictures from Cotton House Seafood at 7777 St.
Andrews Rd. in Irmo. The story is....

I don't know when they actually closed but the last Facebook post on
their page is from May and from the looks of the deck I can believe it.
The sign on the door states that there were robberies and thefts and
that they will be closed until further notice. I guess Irmo's finest was
too busy setting up speed traps or hanging out at the Circle K to notice
any of this going on. Well, today I noticed the for sale sign next to
the road. Doesn't look like they will be reopening any time soon.

(Hat tip to commenter Homer, obviously)

This is one of those places that I never did a closing for because I never could tell if it were actually closed. That is to say, it was always closed whenever I would drive by, but it had signage indicating that it was actually open, and there was still stock inside, so maybe it just had odd hours..

Even after the real estate signs went up, there was no definitive indication that the place wasn't being kept open until the building sold.

That said, I don't think there's any question now..

These shots are from 27 June 2015:

These are from 11 December 2015. Notice that none of the stock has been touched in the intervening six months. If I had compared photosets, this would have convinced me that the actual closing preceded the first set:

These are from 2 October 2016 and the place has now been completely cleared out:

These photos come courtesy of commenter Homer, whose gentle reminder prompts me to finally post them. Looking at them, I can certainly see the former Hardee's that both he and commenter Andrew mention. I am pretty sure I took some photos of my own when the place ceased being The Wild Hare, but apparently I never did a closing on that operation, and don't now have them to hand.

I've often wondered at this intersection where Old Bush River Road branches off from Saint Andrews Road. Given the odd way the main stretch of Bush River turns into Tram and the way the road picks up again here, some major work must have been done once.

Anyway, I'm guessing the Tiki Bar is *not* open.

(Hat tip to commenter Homer)

UPDATE 15 February 2017 -- Remodeling is underway:

UPDATE 11 March 2020: Added map icon.

UPDATE 19 June 2021: Update tags.

Well, this has already been mentioned in Have Your Say a number of times, but the Aldi on Saint Andrews Road in Irmo has closed for about a month of remodeling.

Frankly I'm not that big a fan of the chain -- I've only been in one once, and it kind of gave me the willies. I felt like a rat in a maze. Some people swear by it though, and this one should be open again on 22 September.

Read the rest of this entry »

Here's another Saint Andrews Road drycleaner closing from late Spring. I like the Shirts Laundered graphic and the old style rhyming slogan.

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)

I'm pretty sure this event venue has been mentioned in Have Your Say at some point, but I can't find the reference now. It may be another piece of information lost in this summer's crash.

At any rate, this place is on Saint Andrews Road just North of Seven Oaks Shopping Center and apparently closed in 2014. The real estate writeup says it's still turnkey ready and parks 50. This small image from an old Lake Murray Country promo shows that it lights up well at night too.

UPDATE 18 March 2016: Commenter Andrew notes that Kendall's Catering was co-located here, so I have added it to the post title.

Driving down Saint Andrews Road the other day, I noticed that the NAPA parts store formerly across from Seven Oaks Shopping Center has now actually crossed the street and is in Seven Oaks next to Big Lots.

I'm not sure, but the new sign suggests that the machine shop did not make the transition.

UPDATE 23 March 2018 -- This building is now Palmetto Thrift: