Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

Well, it must be past midnight because Gold's Gym has turned into a pumpkin. (Hey, that's the best I could come up with..)

This is the plaza on Harbison which is just across from the Barnes & Noble / Olive Garden one, and which is anchored by Books-A-Million. I've always wondered a bit about that -- if Books-A-Million and Barnes & Noble were exactly equidistant from you, who would choose BAM?

In recent years, it seems these Halloween stores have started to spring up in empty storefronts all over each fall. I believe that last year, there was one on US-1 near I-26, one on Two Notch near the old Circuit City and one at Sandhill next to H Gregg. More power to them if they can make a business of it, and create some jobs -- it still just seems kind of weird to me to make that big a deal of Halloween. (Though as I mentioned last year, being on an escalator under a bevy of 'Naughty Nurses' is certainly inspiring).

UPDATE 14 December 2016: As mentioned in Have Your Say, a new gym, Crunch Fitness is opening (or may be open by this time) in this former Gold's Gym space in Harbison Center next to 2nd & Charles, the old Books-A-Million location.

The CBRE listing for the shopping center gives a detailed occupancy plan. I would not have guessed that many storefronts were vacant.

This is another casualty of the Ritz Camera chain's downsizing. Previously I wrote about the store on Two Notch Road which closed earlier this summer, and was hoping the other stores were safe. Unfortunately the trend seems to be continuing with this, the Harbison area store, closing while I was on vacation in July.

My observations of the Beltline store makes it seem to me that Ritz has almost totally ditched film photography for digital. I found that the last time I was in there and needed a roll of 35mm, they had a smaller selection than either Wal-Mart or Walgreen's. I'm sure this is a deliberate stragegy, and obviously digital is where the market is and where it will be. On the other hand, when you go to an actual "camera" store, you expect some more obscure items than you can find at the corner drugstore, so I'm not sure the strategy isn't a mixed blessing during this final film/digital period of transition.

UPDATE 30 August 2017 -- Still vacant 8 years later:

I've written about D's Wings a couple of times before. The short version is that it's a local chain with a surprisingly large menu (including good grilled cheese sandwiches and raw fries!) that has gone through a rough patch over the past couple of years.

I think this location, on Columbiana Drive just past Columbiana Center, closed at about the same time the Blythewood and Clemson/Sparkleberry stores did, which was around October last year. I don't know the ownership structure of the chain, but I would speculate that there are several owners because other D's locations (Beltline & Parkland Plaza for instance) continue on.

If you've followed this blog for a while, you've come to know one of my photographic weaknesses, and I indulged it fully the evening I finally stopped by this location.

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This one is a bit of a surprise. Since this location outlasted the Columbia Mall location by several years, I figured it was safe. On the other hand, Columbiana Drive has lost both a D's and a Smokey Bones recently, so there may be some stress on the area I'm not aware of -- the only thing I can think of is that it's a pain to get to either from Harbison (two lights from I-26, I think) or Lake Murray Boulevard (a left turn if coming from I-26).

Not being a great rib fan, I never visited this location, but it looks to have been a nice building. The left side appears to have a second story -- was there seating up there or just office space?

(Hat tip, um, just about everybody, but I think Tom was first).

UPDATE 19 September 2022: Editing tags and adding map icon.

I was out in the rain today in the Harbison area, and noticed this place as I drove back to the Interstate. I guess I'd heard the name Smokey Bones somewhere or other, but given my low interest in barbecue, I had no real idea where the place was, or that it was gone. From the note left on the door, I'm guessing that the same owner runs the listed Red Lobster and Olive Garden locations.

The architecture of the place is interesting. The entrance looks vaguely asian, and I wonder if the building were some sort of asian restaurant before Smokey Bones.

UPDATE 16 November 2011: Updated the closing date based on commenter Andrew's research.