Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

I keep meaning to go by and get some better pix and try to see what's really going on, but it looks to be the case that the whole pump plaza of the Circle K just east of Woodhill is being remodeled. I think I saw the actual store still open in the background, but I couldn't tell for sure.

Anyone know the story?

This building featured here a while ago as a Hot Spot, which was closed for a while, re-opened, and then converted to an O M Mart.

Now it appears that the O M Mart reflagged as a Sunoco at some point, and is now closed again, though apparently on a temporary basis.

(Hat tip to commenter Cindy)

UPDATE 6 March 2023 -- Not a good picture, but open again:

This Main Street convenience store was shut down recently by the Columbia Police Department as a public nuisance. According to ColaDaily:

CPD officers have responded to more than 200 calls for service at the location since January 2021. Documented criminal offenses at the store include drug possession and distribution, larceny, loitering, urinating and defecating in public, alcohol violations and litter/trash accumulation.

Commenter Robin also notes this WLTX story to the same effect.

(Hat tip to commenter Robin)

Rick's was a fishing and ABC store right across Bluff Road from the Columbia Industrial Park. I never went in, but I would see it often driving to and from work a few years ago. This is right next door to the old Cricket Club/Diamonds and the old Grasshopper Club/Vet's Hall. I'm not sure when they closed, but it's been long enough to board the place up and take down the road sign, so I'm going to guess 2020.

Commenter Tom mentioned that this Irmo Corner Pantry Exxon at the I-26 Peak exit had been torn down for the ongoing road work in the area. By the time I got to the area, there was really nothing left to see, but you can view the old building at this LoopNet listing and by clicking through to old images in Google Streetview.

(Hat tip to commenter Tom)

Williston Road is the connector between I-95 and US-301/US-76. Over the years I had noticed this small convenience store from time to time as I was driving the north route to the beach, and recently noticed that it was gone. What I had *not* noticed before, is that it directly abuts a cemetary (Either "Mizpah Cemetary" if you look at the sign or "Hinds Cemetary" if you look at google maps). You could probably infer a pretty good closing date by looking at the gas prices, but all I see from google reviews is that it was already closed "six months ago" (I don't know why google won't put a real date on all their reviews..).

If you look at the google photos it appears that they had a pool table inside, and maybe a bar/food area, but honestly they are too blurry to really tell.

The earliest Google Steetview I can find for this lot is from November of 2007, and shows the station still standing here, though apparently already closed. The next view from January of 2008 already shows the building the the process of being torn down.

LoopNet says it is a 1.1 acre site, and has been sold, so presumably a new convenience store/gas station will go up here as it is on an I-95 exit (Exit 157).

I'm guessing this building was at one time a "country store" type place that made the switchover to "convenience store". As near as I can tell from google reviews, it was Food Mart & Grocery as recently as three years ago, and the roadside sign suggests it reopened as Secret's sometime after that, though the length of the grass suggests that incarnation didn't last too long.

This legacy motel on US-601 at the Sumter Highway interchange has been here many years, and had a certain amount of fame as the Coronet Motel, which was the home of the The Circus Room -- A nightclub in an old circus bigtop tent.

In more recent years it has been a generic family run motel with a convenience store added in the office to bring in a bit more business (which has been in decline ever since Interstates became a thing). The only time I ever stopped was for a much needed comfort break on my way to the beach. I had previously been to the gas station on the other side of the intersection, and had been well less than impressed. In the event I probably should have take that option again. It turned out that the bathroom was unisex, and despite the fact that it had a perfectly good door lock, the exceedingly large woman on the pot when I opened the door had not engaged it. It was an encounter which I don't think did either of us much good..

I noticed a year or so ago that the place had finally given up the ghost and took these pictures a few months ago. Unfortunately many were taken against the sun, but since I doubt I will ever get by there in the morning, so it is what it is.

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This convenience store and Exxon station at the edge of Shandon was formerly the full service Branham's Exxon. It had already done a remodel from that era to do away with the service bays, but the current tenant Gaz-Bah (also an Exxon) has temporarily closed to do another remodel.

As you can see from these pictures, the place has been completely gutted, and looks a good way from reopening.

(Hat tip to commenter Justin S).