Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

Virginia College was the follow-on operation in this Columbia Mall outparcel to Toys-R-Us. As you can see in that post, the college did some major work on the building before opening in 2010.

The whole chain ran into trouble in 2016 when the Federal Department of Education withdrew recognition of its accrediting body. (As I recall the feds were in a bit of a snit about for-profit schools in general at the time). They tried & failed to find another body that would accredit them, leading, as far as I can tell from the Wikipedia article, to the whole chain shutting down in 2018.

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)

I read recently that Richland County had totally dropped the ball on redevelopment of Columbia Mall, and had no idea what they were going to do, despite already buying all the anchor locations. Certainly on a brief partial walk through last Sunday, many shops were shut during regular mall hours, and the number of vacant spaces continues to grow. Stocking even looked a bit sparse in Macy's.

When I visited the food court, it appeared to me that only one vendor, Cynthia's Soul Food, was actually open at the time, though I think at least two other storefronts looked to still be populated and would probably be open on weekdays. I don't know anything about Sarku Japan, but google suggests that there is still one at Columbiana Mall.

I think the King Pizza sign can come down now..

(Hat tip to commenter Sidney)

I have noticed Nuttall Tire on Millwood over the years mainly for their Kilroy Was Here logo, and the odd warehouse-y building they were in (Anyone know what it was?). In December, they left their home of over 20 years to relocate into the old Dick Dyer Toyota dealership location on Two Notch.

ColaDaily has the story:

"We’ve outgrown the building and the parking lot," said owner, Stephen Nuttall. "We like to joke that the walls are expanding and contracting here. But it’s good to fight good problems."

Here are a few shots of the new location:

(Hat tip to commenter MB)

Well, this is a bit disappointing. This credit union with ATM in the Big Lots plaza has been one of my go-to places in this area for no-fee Co-Op ATM withdrawals. It is one of the places I mentally marked as "safe", as it does not unexpectedly give $50 bills (which nobody wants, why does anyone do that!).

The new location seems quite a ways from here, and I don't see how it will be convenient for the members who use this branch.

If I recall correctly, this little development, Sesqui Pointe, and the one next to it were the cause of considerable controversy as they were built on land bought from Sesqui State Park, something very unusual for a state park to do, and something which existing property owners did not expect at all when they located next to a state park.

SleepWorks (it appears to be one word with internal capitalization) is a chain which supports sleep disorder treatment. From their site it appears that there are still a number of locations in South Carolina and the Midlands. I'm not sure when this one closed, but since the branding is still up, and since this has been such a bad year for everyone, I'm going to guess "2020" in the post title.

I noticed the other evening that this florist, on Two Notch near Spring Valley Antique Mall was gone. I go to florists probably less than once a decade, and never went to this one, so there's not much I can say. I do find the name a bit curious, as it sounds more like a nursery than a flower shop.

I believe I first photographed this strip back in 2008 when Hollywood Video closed, and this unit was a Nationwide insurance office. Google suggests that at some point between then and now, it was
Alter Ego Hair Salon. Streetview for 2018 shows the slot already vacant, so doing a blue-sky guess (not confirmed by any phonebook) that that closed in the 2016 timeframe.

When commenter Sidney tipped that this store was closing on the 19th, I thought I would have the whole day to get out there and get some inside pictures. In the event, I think they closed for good at 5, and I got there around 6. I have to say that just from what I can see through the doors, it does not look as picked-over as I expected.

This store was part of the initial troubles faced by Sandhill, as the chain went bankrupt during the great recession, along with another Sandhill anchor (Sofa Express iirc) leaving the shopping center hurting for rent income. Bi-Lo eventually came out of bankruptcy, though it certainly has not had smooth sailing since then. I have forgotten all the details about who bought whom for all the Bi-Lo locations , but the plan is for this one to become a Lowes Foods.

(Hat tip to commenter Sidney)

UPDATE 14 October 2020 -- That was fast! This place is now open as a Lowes:

Apparently we have another COVID-19 casualty here. New York & Company announced on 28 July 2020 that:

store closing sales have begun at all New York & Company retail locations across the United States. The firms are conducting liquidation sales across approximately 380 store locations in connection with the recent bankruptcy filing of New York & Company's parent company, RTW Retailwinds, Inc. ("RTW").

New York & Company is a specialty women's fashion retailer which offers modern, multi-functional wear-to-work apparel at affordable prices. As part of the sale, customers can expect initial discounts of up to 60% off original prices for all in-store merchandise including women's clothing, accessories and shoes.

USA Today provides a bit more detail:

"The combined effects of a challenging retail environment coupled with the impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic have caused significant financial distress on our business, and we expect it to continue to do so in the future," Sheamus Toal, RTW Retailwinds CEO and chief financial officer, said in the release.

So, things weren't great before the plague, but that was the tipping point.

Frankly, I was not aware this store, or the chain, existed, so I can say very little else about it. It is definitely another hit on Sandhill, which really does not need any more problems.

I don't think Victoria's Secret is officially bankrupt, but apparently a planned buyout fell through leaving the chain in desperate straits. Of course the COVID-19 crisis didn't help any either, and they are now in the process of closing 250 some stores.

This Sandhill location apparently closed in June as reported by commenter Bethany, but when I drove by then, the signage was still up, and the merchandise was still inside -- the "Lock the doors" order must have come down very quickly. When I got back in early July, the storefront was cleaned-out and blank.

I see from the label-scar that they were neighbors with a maternity store called Motherhood which pre-deceased VS and for which I never did a closing.

(Hat tip to commenter Bethany)