Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

Mel's (originally mooted to be Mo's) replaced Zesto in this location which closed in December of 2024. They got going in the summer of 2025, and so lasted about a year. I had not stopped since then, but was looking forward to a soft-serve chocolate dip to close out August. In the event, they have been closed several weeks, and a (mysterious) new concept is supposed to debut here in September.

You can read about it in The State, The Post & Courier or on WIS.

Slim Chickens replaced (after a hiatus) another chicken operation Golden Chick which closed in 2019. Slim Chickens opened here in March of 2024 giving them somewhat over two years in operation.

I'm not a chicken fan, but my sister & niece tried it once, were not impressed, and I don't believe went back.

None of the news stories give any reason for the closing though commenter John indicated that he witnessed staffing issues there. Personally, I think that being on the same block as Zaxby's can't have helped.

You can read about the closing at The State or at The Post & Courier.

(Hat tip to commenter John)

Spice Wing in the old Fort Jackon Kmart plaza, closed on 27 May according to this story in The State. However, it is already set to be replaced by another wing operation, Crazy Wings. Kind of makes me wonder if that wasn't the plan all along.

(Hat tip to my sister)

It appears that the Zaxby's out past Aldi on Garners Ferry Road is closed for some sort of remodeling. There are no details on the sign, but the sign is still branded Zaxby's, so I guess they plan to re-open in due course.

(Hat tip to commenter Badger)

The Bojangles at the corner of Elmwood and Park is closed for remodeling.

They have revamped a number of stores over the past few years, just reopening the one on Fort Jackson Boulevard.

The State has the story (to a very limited extent) here.

It's unclear to me whether this is a new operation or just a reflagging, but Chicki's Wings on Broad River in the old Taco Bell/Atlantic Seafood building is now Wings House.

Curiously, though the Grand Opening flags are out, the place was not open during their posted Saturday hours.

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I believe it is safe to borrow commenter Larry's phrase

Well the renovations are extensive

for this Knox Abbot Drive Zaxby's.

This also appears to have entailed knocking down the Sprint building at some point.

Perry's Gourmet Flaming Grilled Chicken (there's a mouthfull by itself!) opened in this former Taco Cid building in on 29 August of 2022. WLTX had the story here.

Apparently the chicken was Portuguese style, which I am not familiar with, but they had traditional Southern items as well. The Google reviews are almost uniformly positive, though there are not a ton of them, which may be an indication they weren't getting the volume they needed.

And of course, the building is odd and old, something Taco Cid finally gave up on, so there may well be a lot of issues to be addressed as indicated in the Closed For Remodeling sign. Unfortunately I don't see any work going on, and those signs are often more aspirational than accurate. Hopefully that won't be the case here and they will be back, but we'll see.

(Hat tip to commenter Payne)

The wonder of Zesto is not that one closed, but that any are still open: Each location is like a step into 50 years ago, and we are lucky to still have such portals.

That said, this location, in Chapin is actually fairly new as such things go, having opened "only" 18 years ago. As for the reasons this one closed, WIS quotes the owner:

It’s just time for me to have a normal life. Same struggles as all mom-and-pop [stores]. Can’t get decent employees, food cost, etc. Times are changing.

There is also a State story here.

(Hat tip to commenter Heath)

This State story about the opening of a House Of Raeford plant near Aiken, with the possible closure of the "Chicken Plant" in West Columbia as a possible knock-on, made me think of the now vacant Capitol Square shopping center again, and of the fact that I had noticed that the House Of Raeford office space there had moved shop back when I was checking on Jin Jin.

The new location is 630 Sunset Boulevard, so presumably the workers from across the street won't have to go too far to get up with someone.

Personally, I wouldn't be too sad if the plant closed as the smell can be teriffic at times, but I understand they do make an effort to help people in recovery and with other issues into the work-force, so I hope nobody loses a job if it happens.