Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

Google Maps gives the name of this place as Pops Pops Pops, just as it is on the sign, but the Welcome To Pops sign inside suggests the official name is the more sedate (and simpler) one. It also appears they may have been a Pantry Express affiliate, though I did not see that branding displayed anywhere. At any rate, looking at Google Streetview, they have been closed since at least 2021. I find it a bit odd that the building has not been re-purposed by now, and that it is in such good shape.

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)

I'm not sure what the issue was here, this location, at the corner of Two Notch & Alpine, seems like a reasonably good one for a gas station, and closing shop leaves all the traffic to the Pitt Stop on the opposite corner. The store does look like it is a little smaller than the current Circle K buildouts, so that could be an issue, or they just could have gotten a good offer for the property, I suppose. At any rate, this circle is squared.

(Hat tip to commenter Sidney)

As I was out looking for Shealey's PDQ Too, I ran across this old "Pure" sign, and had to get some pictures. I figured it was a remnant from the distant past, as I haven't seen a "Pure" station, well, ever, but maybe not so fast.

It turns out that the "Pure" brand was resurrected in 1996, and is now actually headquatered in Rock Hill. Google maps tells me that this sign is actually associated with a "Pure" gas & convenience location just to the north which apparently closed around 2023, and if I ever get out there again, I will get some pictures of that as well. Anyway, I still like the sign.

As far as I can tell this former Harbison Hess store is notable only for having a $300,000 lottery winner in 2021. I am pretty sure I never stopped there, and couldn't even remember where the place was the first time I went out to get some pictures. I know a number of local Speedway stores have closed recently, but if I had to guess, I would say in this case there was a specific plan for the property rather than the company having issues, or at least that's my assumption as the property is already fenced with demolition having started, I would not expect this spot to stay vacant for long.

(Hat tip to commenter Gypsie)

I'm not sure what's going on with the Murphy Express in front of the old Walmart on Bush River Road, but I noticed for two weeks running that there wasn't a gas price posted on the big roadside sign, so I drove back in there and found the station partly dug up and only selling premium gas. I didn't get any good pictures because the attendant came out and was giving me the stink-eye, though people driving around the place looking for a pump with regular could hardly be unusual...

If they are having tank problems, I don't know why they wouldn't put regular in the premium tank and continue on that way until the issue was fixed, but it struck me as very odd.

UPDATE 24 May 2024 -- Whatever issue they were having, it is resolved. They have posted the price for "Regular" again, and in fact since it was the best I saw all day, I stopped and filled up:

Read the rest of this entry »

In keeping with yesterday's theme, here's another Pitt Stop closing. This one is at I-26 exit 119 at the intersection with US-176. This whole strip is closed now, but over the years has acted as a mini-travel-plaza, with gas, a convenience store (possibly with trucker showers), and attached restaurants. The restaurants have included Maggie May's and Nathan's, and the gas pumps have been branded first as Exxon and in the end as Shell.

There appears to be some road-work ongoing on Rolling Meadows Lane, as you can see from several of the pictures. I'm not sure if that's what drove this closing, or it is just coincidental (certainly the location was not robust, at least for restaurants).

UPDATE 21 February 2024 -- In fact the roadwork is taking over this space, and Rolling Meadows Lane is now completely closed:

This Pitt Stop was across from Lowes almost at the intersection of Two Notch with I-20 East. I have stopped there once or twice over the years, but not more often because it is a bit of a pain to get in and out of. The place is a bit interesting because the property has a former automatic carwash which was repurposed into a seperate car detailing business. It's not clear to me what will happen to that long-term, but for now, it looked like it were still open.

I'm not sure when the place closed (other than on or before 10 January), but it is recent enough that the sign is still lit with the final gas price, the banners are still up by the road, and the pumps are still in place.

(Hat tip to commenter AvidReader)

UPDATE 26 Jan 2024: Commenter Tom points out that this building was an Exxon before becoming a Pitt Stop / Sunoco, so I have added that to the post title.

UPDATE 24 June 2024 -- A bit of entrepreneurship going on in the old parking lot:

I'm not sure this property is technically part of Sparkleberry Square, but it's at least an outparcel, and closed in December. I never stopped here, although I noticed it was the cheapest gas in the area a few times recently, because it looked like it would be a pain to come out of and go west.

These pictures were taken Christmas Eve, and it already looked like the tanks were about to be taken up then -- I have not driven by since.

(Hat tip to commenter Rashaad)

I was driving by this weekend, and noticed that the S-Mart convenience store & gas station on the Southwest corner of Blossom & Huger was closed. I didn't notice until I was sitting at the light, so I didn't have a chance to park and look around, but from the pile of dirt and scuff marks, it looks like they have already taken out the tanks.

Normally I would expect something to go into this high-traffic spot quickly, but I proved to be wrong about the catty-cornered lot with the former Columbia Antique Mall / Chic Antique & Co., which closed in 2016. That struck me as a prime site, but now six years later, the space is still vacant.