Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

As I recall, there was some drama in starting up this place, Brunches had been on Knox Abbott Drive in the old Shrimper location, and there was some sort of ownership split, with the Knox Abbott location becoming Just Us Cafe and some of the team establishing The Original Brunches in the Terry's Diner location on Leaphart Road.

From Google reviews, it appears that The Original Brunches closed sometime in 2024.

UPDATE 21 April 2026: Found two more pictures.

I like biscuits, but somehow never seem to end up at a biscuit place.

Rambo's was a Main Street storefront as well as a Soda City Market presence, but either lost or elected not to renew their lease last December. You can read about that at The State or on WIS.

The owners' goodbye and post closing clearance notes are on their Facebook.

(Hat tip to commenter Gypsie)

Cafe Strudel opened in this Lexington restaurant space in May of 2018, replacing (after a hiatus) Kovachi's.

The Cafe Strudel brand, which included this store and the original State Street location in West Columbia, was recently purchased from its founders by the Foundry Hospitality Group which will be retaining the original flagship and bringing a yet to be specified new concept to this spot.

Considering the the original location has been up since 1997, you might think I could have managed to stop by sometime in the last nigh unto 30 years, but in the event not yet.

You can read about the closing on ColaDaily or in The State.

(Hat tip to commenter James R)

Here's another place I never ate -- I wasn't really aware of it, and anyway would worry about parking. I don't have an exact date for the closing, but the follow-on, Surfin' Sumo, "Hawaiian fusion flavors with a Japanese twist", opened on 28 August 2025, so presumably at least a couple of weeks before that, to allow for the changeover.

I don't see any stories about Sandwich Depot (the Google reviews are middling), but here are stories about the new operation from City government, the Post & Courier & The State.

(Hat tip to commenter Justin)

I was not aware of this restaurant, tucked away in McCauley Square until commenter Heath mentioned it. Looking at the menu, I think I would have liked some of the sandwiches, though I would not generally be in that area at lunchtime. I will say that when I stopped by to take these pictures, the the parking lot for the strip was entirely too busy and too crowded. The owners' Facebook page does mention the fact that having so many restaurants in there made it hard to stand out. You can read that page for the closing message as well.

(Hat tip to commenter Heath)

Pretty much placeholder pictures, as I just did a drive-by when I should have stopped, but this Waffle House is apparently undergoing the same upfit as a number of other midlands locations. It should be back in a few months, still looking like a Waffle House...

(Hat tip to commenter Tom)

UPDATE 9 October 2023 -- Still in progress:

UPDATE 26 June 2024 -- Open again:

I did some driving around in parts of the state I don't usually get to during July. I think I've featured a few of those closings already, and there will be some more in the future. As far as I know, I had never been down this stretch of road in Bennettsville before, on SC-9 heading towards Dillon.

I honestly don't think I've ever eaten in a Huddle House either, though it's possible I did in Fernandina once. Anyway, I've always thought of them as sort of a discount Waffle House, and the, almost uniformly bad, reviews for this place don't dissuade me from that notion. (To be fair, there are some positive reviews). At any rate it sounds to me they were having extreme post-COVID staffing issues, and I think you can disregard the the Now Hiring signage.

I have been aware of Eggs Up Grill since they opened their first location in Litchfield Beach, in a side-room of Latte Litchfield. Somehow in all those years, I've never managed to stop by a location. This is mostly down to my not being a breakfast person at all, and the fact that they close relatively early in the day. I'll get to it eventually.

As I recall, this location was their first one in Columbia, and in fact, their first one off the Grand Strand. I still think of it as being fairly new, but it's actually been here a good few years now, and it is currently closed while they remodel. I didn't see any proposed opening date posted anywhere, but looking inside, they still have a good ways to go.

UPDATE 3 October 2023 -- Open again:

I was unaware of this Lexington place, tucked away on North Lake Drive between Main Street and US-378 until commenter Heath mentioned that it had closed.

The Lexington Chronicle says that they

served breakfast items such as biscuit sandwiches and chicken and waffles, along with lunch dishes including chicken pot pie, burgers and sandwiches. The location also emphasized baked goods including cinnamon rolls and mini bundt cakes.

It's unclear exactly why they closed, but they are looking for another location, and so don't intend for it to be permanent. For now the web site and Facebook are still up.

(Hat tip to commenter Heath)

This Hardees on US-1 in Batesburg-Leesville apparently closed sometime in 2017. I see some reports that it moved to a new location, but not where that actually is. As of three or four years later, there is still no new tenant. The glassed in dining area on the west side (right side in these pictures) is interesting as I don't recall that from Hardees. It looks like it could be very nice or way too bright depending on the time of day and season.