Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

As mentioned in the closing for New Brookland Tavern, that operation will be moving to this famous storefront on Harden Street. What wasn't clear to me from the stories (The State & The Free Times) was exactly what was to happen to The Cotton Gin. When I went by Five Points a few weeks ago, it appeared to still be open, and there are recent Google reviews. I still have not seen anything in the media pinning things down, but judging from their Instagram feed, it appears that 25 November will be the last day for The Cotton Gin.

McCary's Bar & Grill (the sign suggests McCary's Sports Bar & Grille, but the Facebook page doesn't support that) shares a parking lot with the phone & loan building that featured here last week.

Judging from the Google reviews, this place probably closed around September of 2023, though given their last Facebook post was 22 June 2023, and there was a shooting there on 28 June 2023, it's possible they did not re-open after that.

I'm not sure how long ago this incarnation started, but the building has been a bar as long as I can recall. The reviews suggest there was not much Irish about it beyond the logo and name at this point, so possibly the ownership changed sometime in the past.

UPDATE 6 December 2023: Adding Kentucky Fried Chicken to the post title based on comments from KC & Brandon.

UPDATE 18 September 2024 -- Open again as The New McCary's Bar & Grill:

I just ran across these pictures of Tabu at 700 Gervais Street, and realized I hadn't seen that locomotive in a good while. I believe the spot is now occupied by Tsunami, though I could be behind on that as well.

There's not a lot of information online, but the place is referred to in the past tense in this 2016 State article, so it was definitely gone by then. This Free Times article suggests that the club shared ownership with the now demolished Pure Ultra Lounge on Berryhill and featured an Urban playlist.

I thought I had some daytime pictures of this place, but in the event I can't find them. The nighttime shots are suboptimal because of a big streetlight in the wrong place, but they'll have to do as a placeholder.

The New Brookland Tavern has been in this spot seemingly forever, with very few changes over the years. I Believe the last time I was there was to see The Explorers Club, which whould have probably been August 2011. At the time I recall thinking that the place was pretty ragged, and judging by the stories about the place moving, it doesn't sound like it has gotten any less so.

The building has been sold recently, and the Tavern's lease expires at the end of the year, so they plan to have the final shows in December, and hopefully find a new home in the new year.

You can check out upcoming shows for the final season here.

The story has featured several times in local media. You can read The State stories here & here, and the Free Times story here.

(Hat tip to commenter Tom)

UPDATE 2 October 2023: Added a (still not great) daytime shot.

Well, it's the summer doldrums, so posting has been light, and will continue so for a while, but here's a bit from out of town.

When I lived in Aiken, I worked in Augusta, so I ended up eating supper over there more often than not, but I certainly did eat at the Aiken Brewing Company a number of times over the years. They had a decent burger, and while I'm no beer connoisseur, I thought the porter or stout was pretty good. I guess I last ate there sometime in the fall of 2022, when it was still pleasant to sit outside on the sidewalk. When I went back recently, I found that the place was closed, and this story indicates that the owner was retiring. More recently, this story says a new restaurant will be locating there at the end of summer, but I did not see any indication of ongoing work, which seems a bit odd.

This place goes back at least into the 50s when it was The Friar's Club, then it was Mary's Celebrity Supper Club, and then it was Ole Place Club, and, possibly after Mary Dixon's passing, (The New) Ole Place. I believe through all those times, and the ups & downs of Two Notch Road, it remained a membership-only bar & grill. Judging from the activity on their Facebook page it appears they closed around November of 2022.

Be sure to checkout the Celebrity Club link, and I have a picture of the Friar's Club on a postcard somewhere I will try to get uploaded.

I admit to being a bit disenchanted with Buffalo Wild Wings. I never went to this location, but I used to go the the Devine Street store some because it was open late nights. I had one ongoing issue in that they would frequently be out of unsweet ice-tea. I know it's mainly a beer place, but my theory is that if you are out of something easy to make, and it's two hours before closing: make more. The other insight I had came when I ordered the hot pretzels one night, and decided I would rather have butter than cheese sauce or mustard. There was none. I'm sorry, but if you don't have butter in the kitchen, you're not a real restaurant. (Doesn't have to be in a individual packet, just put some in dressing cup and it will be fine..). Anyway, that's just one man's opinion.

As I mentioned a few posts ago, I sometimes go the the neighboring Applebee's, and from what I could see across the way, Buffalo Wild Wings seemed to be doing a pretty good business. Coupled with the recent closings of the nearby Wild Wing at Sandhill and the Vista Wild Wing, it makes me wonder if the wings & beer restaurant is in decline.

Here is The State on the closing.

(Hat tip to commenter Mr. Hat)

Honestly, I had good intentions about The Whig. There was plenty of notice given that it was going to close, and I was determined to visit it at least once before it did. In the event, as usual, good intentions did not a solid plan make, and I never got around to it.

The first time this underground space in the basement of Columbia's oldest skyscraper caught my eye was when it had the oddly compelling name The Frog & Brassiere, two things that don't usually go together. The Whig opened in 2005, and lasted 17 years until ongoing renovations to make the host building a hotel, and plans for a basement hotel bar as part of that resulted in the lease not being renewed.

You can read about it in The State and The Post & Courier

The Sandy Monkey was in Murrells Inlet (or possibly Garden City depending on what you go by) in a small plaza next to the now razed Jungle Lake Golf. At one time there were at least three businesses in this area, including a little walk-up hut-style operation which seemed to change names and cusines every few years. I seem to remember a coin laundry in the strip as well at one time.

I believe I ate in the building once when it was an Italian operation, and was not impressed enough to go back. The pictures on their Yelp page suggest that The Sandy Monkey set up here in 1990, and the reviews, Yelp & otherwise, suggest that while it had its partisans, the non-regulars were not impressed. The whole plaza has been razed now, which is a bit surprising as you would think that meant they had a plan going forward, but it's been a number of years now since this building and the golf operation were gone and the area is still vacant.

Interestingly, their Facebook is still up.

This restaurant/club space which fronts on both Devine & Santee will always be Monterrey Jack's in my mind, but of course it has been many, possibly dozens, of other places over the years. I believe the most recent predecessor to Moosehead Saloon that I have a closing for is Elbow Room but I think I could have missed a couple in between there.

As far as I can tell, this was a country-rock bar with a mechanical bull and a somewhat rowdy atmosphere. I know they got some bad publicity back in 2018 but they apparently continued on into the COVID age until they were caught up in the Great Five Points Bar Bassacre last April.