Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

Well, here's another casualty of COVID-19.

ColaDaily reports that both the Assembly Street and Lexington IHOPs will not be reopening after closing for the crisis.

This site last featured here when the old classic-look store was torn down and rebuilt in 2013. I confess that I had given up on this location well before the closure in March. I have always appreciated IHOP as a good late-night place for comfort food, and I really like the Harvest Grain & Nut Pancakes. However, it seemed to me that every time I went here after the rebuild, I had some kind of issue. Either I couldn't get seated, or couldn't get waited on, or couldn't get anyone to take my money on the way out. Then there was the time the restaurant was full and apparently only one one kitchen staffer had shown up. I have had much better luck on Two Notch, but they are not open late, so my midnight runs seem to end up at Applebee's these days (well, "these days" before the current unpleasantness).

(Hat tip to commenter Heath)

UPDATE 4 March 2021 -- Both this IHOP and the one in Lexington unexpectedly found a new owner, and are open again. Unfortunately there were still multiple issues during my only visit so far:

I can't find out exactly when Floor Boys moved to 1728 North Lake Drive, but I'm thinking it was probably last year, or I would have noticed it sooner.

LoopNet says the building was put up in 1994 and that it sits on 27 acres with a warehouse, which I certainly would not have guessed. To me it looks more like it was originally built as a house, but it does have that front entrance canopy.

Due to scheduling issues of one sort and another, I did not get to Brookgreen Gardens Nights of 1000 Candles in 2019, so I was looking forward to seeing the Bruce Munro Southern Light installation this Spring. Well, then there was, of course, COVID-19, and that was put on hold for a while.

Now however, the display is up and running, and I found a chance to take it in on 6 June 2020. It was one of those unseasonably cool nights we have had this Spring, so the bugs were down, but it was still very comfortable, and there was also a beautiful full moon to go with the lights. My favorite part was towards the last of this set of pictures, a profusion of small color-changing bulbs on stalks planted across one of the more open and less sculpture-studded sections of the gardens. I felt as though I could probably have sat out there for some hours, but as the display closes at 11pm, I had to move on out before I was quite ready.

The exhibition runs from 8pm-11pm through September, so if you are in the area, it's well worth checking out.

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Google tags this spot as "temporarily closed", but there is a real estate sign in front now, so my guess is they closed during the initial stages of COVID-19 and were not able to hang on until the reopening of barber shops and salons a few weeks ago.

Looking for this address also turns up a LoopNet page which reveals it was also formerly a Chiropractor's office.

This building, in a former Clusters Of Whitehall outparcel, is a former TD Bank. After the bank moved, Insurance Masters set up shop and painted the building a nice cheery Blue Cross blue. For some reason, after they left the building was repainted with drab green, and currently sits empty.

Although LoopNet is not currently offering the property, they do state it was built in 1970, which means it certainly did not start as a TD Bank, as they only came to town within the last ten years or so. They also state the vault is still inside, which is not surprising, as those can be pretty hard to get rid of.

UPDATE 14 March 2022 -- Now Soda City Pharmacy & Compounding:

Sunrise Florida chain Pet Supermarket opened in the old Eckerd's / Rite Aid on Harden Street in the fall of 2017, and The State had the story here.

Now, three years later, the place is having a liquidation sale prior to shutting down.

Interestingly, The State story mentions that the building was subdivided with about 25% left for another business to occupy, something, which as far as I know, never happened.

(Hat tip to commenter Justin)

Copper River Grill in Harbison is another casualty of the COVID-19 crisis, though it has featured here before in the comments as an example of a place that had gone downhill, and the recent Yelp reviews are not stellar.

Cola Daily has the story on the closing here.

I only visited Copper River Grill once, years ago. I had heard it was a good place for late night pizza, so I hit it around midnight one evening. My memory is that the pizza was OK, nothing special, and that it was quite hard to get my drink refilled. In any event, I never went back.

I do like the entrance-way though.

(Hat tip to commenter Heath)

I enjoy goofy tourist attractions (one reason I like Florida so much) and had been marginally aware of Snake River over the years but it was too far North to be a mini-golf destination for us, and I had never stopped by. Last time I was in the area, I noticed it had shut down, and got these pictures.

Judging by the Google reviews, this place was already on its last legs when it closed sometime around last August and the course as decribed doesn't actually sound much different from the state I found it in! Interestingly, none of the reviews I saw mentioned anything about the gem & fossil mining side of the attraction.

There is more to the course, but while I was walking around, I noticed a car parked in the main building area, and decided to not go over there.

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This car wash was the follow-on operation in this little building on Percival to Liberty Income Tax which followed Gentlemen's Barber Shop.

I don't have much to say about the place, but someone in the comments was interested in buying the place a few years ago: It's now officially on the market.

I've always admired this interesting building on upper Knox Abbott. I'm not sure if it was originally built as a Red Wing store, or something else started here, but it certainly catches the eye as you drive by.

Recently the owners have disaffiliated from Red Wing, saying:

Formerly Red Wing Shoes, we have changed our name to CB Forrest Workwear, and will have a larger variety of safety shoes!

and

We have been serving the Cayce area for over 30 years. (Formerly Red wing shoes) We have changed our name to CB Forrest Workwear, but will be managed by the same staff. Same service and custom fit as always, but now with more brands to choose from.