Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

I did a closing for the Dutch Square Ruby Tuesday back in May. At that time I took pictures of this one, on a Columbiana Mall outparcel, as well. Since, unlike the other, there wasn't any clarity that this one was permanantly closed, I held off doing a post.

I drove back by today however, and nothing has changed. The "temporarily closed" sign is still up, but at this point I suspect that is no longer accurate. At the least, it's worth a mention and if they re-open later great! In the meantime, chalk up another one for for COVID-19.

I was at Pizza Palace last weekend, and noticed that the Jolidan African Hair Braiding salon in the same plaza had closed. Given how hard COVID-19 has been on all salons & barbers, I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case here.

See here for the story.

Apparently we have another COVID-19 casualty here. New York & Company announced on 28 July 2020 that:

store closing sales have begun at all New York & Company retail locations across the United States. The firms are conducting liquidation sales across approximately 380 store locations in connection with the recent bankruptcy filing of New York & Company's parent company, RTW Retailwinds, Inc. ("RTW").

New York & Company is a specialty women's fashion retailer which offers modern, multi-functional wear-to-work apparel at affordable prices. As part of the sale, customers can expect initial discounts of up to 60% off original prices for all in-store merchandise including women's clothing, accessories and shoes.

USA Today provides a bit more detail:

"The combined effects of a challenging retail environment coupled with the impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic have caused significant financial distress on our business, and we expect it to continue to do so in the future," Sheamus Toal, RTW Retailwinds CEO and chief financial officer, said in the release.

So, things weren't great before the plague, but that was the tipping point.

Frankly, I was not aware this store, or the chain, existed, so I can say very little else about it. It is definitely another hit on Sandhill, which really does not need any more problems.

I'm not sure how long, Yummy II has been here, but quite a while I while, I think. Initially I thought there was a real estate sign in the window, but in fact it is simply a placard for the construction company which is doing the asbestos removal and interior demolition.

Google has Yummy II marked as "termporarily closed" so I am going with that in the post title, but the absence of any "See you soon!" type of sign is not a good omen.

(If there is still a Yummy I, I don't know where it is.)

(Hat tip to commenter Thomas)

UPDATE 9 September 2020: I have taken the "Temporary?" notation off the post title as it appears from the comments while that was the hope for Yummy at the start of the crisis they are now gone and this is to become a Kudzu Bakery. I have been in the Litchfield & Georgetown locations of that chain a few times and recall both of those spaces as larger than this. Also commenter Thomas calls out the previous occupant in this storefront as Little Caesars, so I have added that to the post title.

This old-school barber shop on Taylor Street is yet another casualty of COVID-19.

It appears they tried to stick it out, but in the end could not make it through the lockdown period.

(Hat tip to commenter Frank Mancuso)

UPDATE 3 September 2020: Commenter John R mentions that this storefront used to be a Krispy Kreme, so I have added that to the post title. I knew there was one somewhere around here. It used to be that when my aunt would come up from Jacksonville on the Silver Star, we would stop here to pick up warm doughnuts to eat while we waited and then continue down to the Seaboard station to meet her train (which would arrive fairly late at night).

Judging by reviews, this Fatz may have been closed on a temporary basis since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, but now they have made it permanent.

To the best of my memory, this location is the only Fatz at which I have eaten. It would have been while I was living out of town, in the late 1980s, or early 1990s I think, and I was not impressed. I remember distinctly thinking something like Secret Sauce?: Mayo!

Now, I may have come on the wrong night, or ordered the wrong thing, because the Yelp reviews of the three Fatz locations I have looked at (this one, the one on Broad River Road and the one in Conway) show plenty of people who used to love the chain. They also show a recent precipitous decline in perceived food quality, service levels and physical plant maintainence. I just guessing here, but there seems to be a viscious circle going on with declining income leading to a decline in the things that bring in income. (By the way, what's up with both Yelp and Google showing reviews in other than newest first order? The recent ones are kind of the most important!)

It will be interesting to see what happens to this location, because while it is at an Interstate exit, it really isn't that easy to get to.

(Hat tip to commenter Thomas)

According to The State Adrenaline trampoline park opened on 26 May 2018 in the old Piggly Wiggly building. I used to love trampolines, always trying to visit King's Funland when at Pawleys, but I have to admit the thought of getting on one now would scare me to death. That's gravity and middle age for you!

I know my niece went to this location at least once, and actually had another free pass that she never got around to redeeming. Now, of course, it's too late. Adreneline has been closed since the start of the lockdown, and sometime in the last month or so, they announced they would not be coming back.

I'm not sure what the deal with the tiger was.

(Hat tip to my sister)

Uptown gifts was the follow-on operation in this storefront to the venerable Capitol Newsstand where I made many finds back in the pre-internet age.

I had thought they set up shop in 2011, but based on this ColaDaily story, they must have moved in very shortly after Capitol closed. I never had the occasion to visit this store, but I did like the cityscape logo.

According to the linked story, they first shut down due to the COVID-19 mess, and then decided to just move on.

This makes two vacancies on the east side of this block, as there is still no action in the Persona location.

(Hat tip to commenter Justin)

I noticed today that the Marble Slab in The Vista is closed. The last reviews are from four months ago, so it's pretty clearly another COVID-19 story.

I do think the window sign is a bit misleading. While I'm glad to hear the Woodhill location is open, I suspect the wording has made more than a few people driving by, park and then be disappointed on walking up to the door.