Columbia Closings   What’s not in Columbia anymore

We used to visit Cokesbury books when it was in the Dutch Center office plaza across Dutch Square Boulevard from the mall, and it always used to puzzle me.

Now, when I say "we", I mean basically my mother with my sister and me in tow. As to why it puzzled me -- well, I couldn't ever understand why I couldn't find any books I wanted to read there. On some level, I understood that my mother went there when she was looking for Sunday School or Circle material, but I never really made the connection because on another level -- well, it was a book store wasn't it? There must be a science fiction section in here somewhere. And yet time after time I could never find anything that looked interesting that wasn't by C. S. Lewis. And frankly, Out of the Silent Planet didn't look *that* interesting..

At some point they moved from Dutch Square Boulevard to Broad River Road, and I moved out of town. The next time I saw them, I wasn't 13 anymore, and I realized, Duh! It's a devotional bookstore!.

As you can see from the sequence of pictures here, they ran an orderly closeout of the Broad River store, and put up the figurative shutters on 20 April.

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew.)

This old country-house-looking building is out on Broad River Road in between Saint Andrews Road and Harbison Boulevard. I guess the area is starting to be developed some now, but for many years, this was essentially out in "the stix". I would often notice this mom & pop video store as I drove by, and wondered how the thing lasted well past the video startup era and into the Blockbuster era. In the end Blockbuster did come to the area, though it was a short lived victory.

The place seems to be a barbershop and hair salon now.

Apparently this little boutique across from Boozer Shopping Center started on Saint Andrews Road, where they are listed in the Feb 2012 phonebook. I see an online review for them in the Broad River Road strip mall location from August 2012, so they had moved by then. I'm not sure when they closed, but they are listed in the Feb 2013 phonebook, so I would guess some time early this year.

I've done so many closings on Blockbusters that it's hard to believe there are still some around. It's kind of like finding one of those prehistoric fish that get dredged up every now and then. This one is on Broad River Road near the old G-E-X, and is already having their final clearance sale. It's amazing how far and how quickly a company which once had naming rights to everything and thought they were the future of entertainment has fallen..

(Hat tip to commenter William)

UPDATE 8 April 2013 -- As reported by commenter Andrew below, this place closed on 24 March, and the signs are down:

Barnette's Wallcoverings was at the north-east tip of Boozer Shopping Center, and closed some time last year. It's been several months since I first noticed it closed, so it wasn't too near the end of the year, but on the other hand they are in the 2013 phonebook, so it can't have been too near to the start of 2012 either.

It seems to me that 2012 saw a lot of turnover in Boozer, and while they did get some new tenants, I think that there are more vacancies than usual.

I noticed before the Holidays that health food store Nutrition Warehouse in Boozer Shopping Center has moved from the south side of the plaza to 1621 Broad River road in main strip on the north side. Apparently in their old location, they had two adjacent storefronts, as you can still see the label-scar on the unit to the right of the one with the very visible sign.

Along with the move, they have added a Contract Post Office, so the loss of Broad River Road UPS Store is now more or less made good. Their second location, on Forest Drive by the new Pasta Fresca location also has a CPO, and I've found it convenient several times despite the fact that it's just a stone's throw from the Trenholm Plaza post office. Every time I've walked in with a package, there's been no line whatsoever.

This small urban wear shop was in a little strip mall on Broad River Road more or less across from Widewater Square. I can't find it in my phonebooks, so I'll just put the closing date at "late 2000s".

Here's yet another cash advance/check cashing operation that's closed up shop. This one is on Broad River Road about midway between Bush River Road and the Food Lion. I think there's a logical construction called a "Tautology" that probably fits here: There's not much money in people who don't have much money.

If you look closely at the awning (click-through), you can see the old State Farm banner and logo labelscar.

Tainos was a Caribbean restaurant in a Broad River Road building perhaps most notable for having been the original Lizard's Thicket. It's certainly been quite a number of things since then, though Tainos seems to have brought lizards back to the building.

The story told by the door notices is rather distressing, though of course it is told from the restaurant's point of view. Certainly it seems to have been a nasty surprise.

(Hat tip to commenter Soxinsc)

This real estate office was almost at the intersection of Broad & Bush River Roads just past Boozer Shopping Center.

As I found taking these pictures, it's a bit of a hard spot to get into and out of, with a pretty steep parking lot (I bottomed-out coming out of there) and lots of traffic to turn across if you're coming from the Graystone side. I suspect the real estate market had more to do with this closing than the parking lot though.