Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

I have to admit I've always thought Regions Bank is a pretty lame name, though it sounded less derivitive after NationsBank reflagged to Bank Of America. That aside, I know nothing about the chain, other than, like most, it is shedding branches.

I got these pictures of the Harbison location back in September -- I'll try to remember to follow-up with some pictures of the vacant building when I'm out there in the daytime again.

(Hat tip to commenter Justin)

UPDATE 19 September 2022 -- Now Founder's Federal Credit Union:

I don't know anything about (John) King Leather Company except that it was open until fairly recently and that I don't remember ever seeing it before, though I must have driven this stretch of Barnwell at some point. The phone company can't be bothered to send me directories anymore, but they were still listed in the February 2017 book, so I'm just going to say they were a casualty of 2020 unless I hear differently.

(Hat tip to commenter Justin)

Ale House Lounge (or as some listings style it: The Original Ale House Lounge) sits in a little plaza off of Beltline which, like Lake Wobegon, the decades cannot improve -- or at least to me it seems unchanged from the first time I saw it.

I can't find any media stories online about the closing, but commenter Joelc chalks it up to limited bar hours, presumably due to COVID-19.

(Hat tip to commenter Joelc)

LensCrafters in Richland Mall was on the upper level across from the barbershop, in the far left of the first picture. I had another picture of the facade, but it didn't come out, and Richland Mall is locked on weekends now, so it will be a while before I can get another.

They moved to Cross Hill Market in an outparcel across from Duck Donuts sometime in the fall. I believe that with this move, the barbershop is now the only business in Richland Mall which does not have outside access.

J. Crew apparently has the distinction of being the first major retailer to file for bankruptcy due to the COVID-19 infestation, and this store at Trenholm Plaza, which was the only Midlands location, closed as a result of that.

ColaDaily has the story, as does WLTX which also points out that this leaves the shopping center with four vacancies.

(Hat tip to commenter Heath)

I don't know what's going on with the Boozer Shopping Center location of Chick-fil-A, but the place is currently closed, though it is flagged as temporary.

(Hat tip to commenter Rashaad)

UPDATE 6 March 2021 -- As mentioned in the comments, this place is open again:

UPDATE 8 July 2022: Updating post title capitalization & tags.

I never did get any good daylight shots of this place, but the First Citizens in the North Main/River Drive triangle has gone to ATM only. Given they will still be paying rent/lease/taxes on the whole lot, I don't expect that situation to last too long.

(Hat tip to commenter Justin)

UPDATE 20 October 2022: Updating tags.

I believe this building was built for the office supply chain OfficeMax, or at least that's what was in the storefront when I first became aware of it. Remington College moved in sometime around 2009, when the first picture above was taken.

I noticed about a week ago that the signage at the road and on the building had come down, but I'm unable to find any thing in the local media about it. The Facebook page for this location has entries up through Thanksgiving 2020, but no note about closing the campus. The main website for the school doesn't mention Columbia as a campus, though Wikipedia still does.

UPDATE 28 January 2021: Add Big Star to the post title based on the comments.

I stopped at this Bi-Lo on Sunday, and while it was rapidly emptying out, there was still a good bit there, and they hadn't started randomly consolidating the shelves. I picked up some long lasting sundries like shampoo, hot sauce & spices at a 15% discount.

According to The Post & Courier, this store is not going to be converted into a Food Lion and there are no current plans for a new tenant in the building.

(Hat tip to commenter Alan, and possibly others -- there has been a lot of talk about Bi-Lo).

UPDATE 13 December 2021: Now a Food Lion:

It's been a while since I've mentioned Inlet Square, the hard-luck south strand mall where US-17 splits in Murrells Inlet.

I noticed during an October visit that almost the last remaining major store in the mall, Books A Million had closed. That's a shame as over the pre-kindle years I certainly had my share of lattes there while browsing the aisles. In recent times it has been somewhat as Barnes & Noble is to Richland Mall, a rare national store hanging on in a nearly empty space. (Curiously both malls still have a Belk as well).

This WBTW article from 13 May notes in passing that the store "recently closed" while describing what sounds rather like a "flea mall" concept of local stores, with varying hours moving in to the mall's vacant spaces. I have yet to go inside to see how that is working out. This particular space is now a church.