Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

Here's another closed bank branch, this one on Sunset Boulevard near Target. I like the view out of the back of the lot. Even though the area has built up considerably, there are still large undeveloped areas in Lexington County.

(Hat tip to commenter JamesR)

LoopNet says this old Russell & Jeffcoat building is off the market, but there was still a real estate sign out front when I drove by a few weeks ago. These buildings have such a distinctive look that it always seems odd to see non Russell & Jeffcoat tenants in them.

UPDATE 16 June 2022: Updating tags.

I like Smashburger burgers, and their choice of buns (espically the chipolte one), but the fries are so bad that it's not really a competitor to Five Guys in my mind. Nonetheless, every few months I do eat at the Devine Street location.

This particular location is in the new shopping center that was built after tearing down the old Cherokee Trail Veterinary Hospital. I believe that Smashburger was the initial tenant in this suite, and the first tenant of the strip to exit. (Even its Mattress Firm still survives).

(Hat tip to commenter ED)

UPDATE 17 January 2023: Update tags.

Domino's would not be my go-to for pizza unless I were in a strange city and needed something likely to be acceptable delivered to the hotel. That said, when I've had it, it has largely been OK, and certainly better than some of the other things the boss could order for a working lunch.

This location was in a fairly pizza-ed area of Lexington -- next to a Mellow Mushroom and not far from an Uno. It looks like the new location at 205 Columbia Avenue is also near to a number of other pizza places, but I guess, where isn't these days?

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)

UPDATE 12 May 2019 -- Little Caesar's signage is up:

Here is another Sunset Boulevard location of Eagle Cleaners. They also had a location in West Columbia at one time.

Just going by my experiences of getting in and out of Topspin Plaza taking pictures of things, I suspect drop off and pickup might have been somewhat difficult during rush hours.

The sign is referring to the 3010 Rosewood Drive location, which is right beside Dano's Pizza

(Hat tip to commenter Beth)

I was not really aware of Rue 21 in Lexington as I'm not in the target young women demo, and don't like shopping for clothes anyway. After commenter Jimmy mentioned that this store was closing, I did a little research and found that the store was in Chapter 11 bankruptcy from May to September of 2017 and closed 420 stores during that period. They also took on a new CEO as of 25 June 2018 who 'resigned' mid-November 2018 after less than a half year tenure. Apparently the teen apparel sector continues to flail, and Rue 21 continues to shed stores.

(Hat tip to commenter Jimmy)

UPDATE 7 June 2024: Updating tags.

I'm not sure exactly what is going on at this BB&T next to Panera Bread on Garners Ferry Road, but it seems to be some sort of renovation.

What really needs renovation is the parking lot by the old Postal Depot, which has one of Columbia's more impressive potholes (which is saying something).

I noticed this vacant house/office on Sunset a few months ago. It seems that Chandler Chiropractic moved from this location sometime after April of this year to their new office at 3681-D Leaphart Road.

This building was obviously a ranch style residence when it was built, and was on a nice little plot of land. Of course that was probably when US-378 was a sleepy two lane road, and I don't see a family moving back here any time soon. The building is for sale, so we will see what happens next.

I think my dermatologist would prefer I dig a tunnel to the mailbox and not come out into the sunlight at all, so I have never really understood the allure of tanning studios, but there are still a number of them around. This one is next to the former Springleaf Financial Serveices at Garners Ferry Crossing, and you can see it in operation in the first picture above. They listed in the Feb 2016 phonebook, but not more recently, so I'm guessing this storefront has now been vacant for at at least two years. (And the same plaza Hibachi Grill P&G Buffet has now been vacant over five years.)

Commenter Beth noted a while back that this Chick-fil-A location was being torn down and rebuilt with double drive-through lanes.

The last time I looked at it, it was still open, though with some lot construction going on. Now they have definitely gotten into the rebuild phase.

Eat mor bef!

(Hat tip to commenter Beth)

UPDATE 26 April 2019 -- Last time I drove by, the rebuild looked nearly done:

UPDATE 12 May 2019 -- Open again:

UPDATE 28 January 2021 Add tags.