Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

If this plaza has a name, it is not apparent. There have been a number of fairly high-profile stores in there over the years including Winn-Dixie, and Lionel Playworld, but none recently and the main building, which now houses a plasma center and a comedy club, is pretty beat up and decrepit on the Trenholm end.

Perhaps the current owners have given up on bringing the place back up as I noticed a For Sale sign on the property last month. Of course that doesn't mean much as I think Midlands Shopping Center has been on the block for years with no takers.

I always thought Badcock had a Smucker's kind of thing going on: With a name like that, it had to be good.

I first became aware of the chain in Fernandina growing up, but I never got around to going into the store on my trips up and down Centre Street. Likewise, I don't believe I ever stepped into one anywhere else either.

Commenter Andrew sends this article which says that the chain was purchased seven months ago by Conn's Home Plus which promptly went bankrupt taking Badcock with it. Seems like some poor decision-making on both sides of that sale!

This store is in Fashion Place on Decker, a venue which has seen its share of closings over they years to the point that I would say Badcock was the last anchor type store in the place. We will have to see what follows.

I can't really say anthing about this Decker Boulevard barber shop, but commenter Sidney says it had been there for quite a while, and it's always a shame when an oldstyle barber closes.

(Hat tip to commenter Sidney)

There is some confusion on the street address of this former Taco Bell on Decker. It was apparently previously listed as 2632 (and I have pictures with that address posted in the window), but is now 2652.

Charlie's Wings was the follow-on in this spot to Feel Goods. I'm not exactly sure when they closed. The last post on their Facebook page is from 2019, but they have Yelp reviews into 2021, so I'm going to put that in the post title.

The reason that I noticed Charlie's was gone is that a new operation is now open in the space, a "Korean style Chicken" restaurant: 92 Chicken.

I noticed that this beauty supply store in one of the many small strip malls on Decker last month was posting a closing sign. I don't know anything about it, but the building is one of those designs you don't see anymore.

El Salto was the follow-on operation in this location to Dino's. I ate there once earlier this year, and thought it was pretty good, though I didn't put it on regular rotation.

I was driving down Decker the other day and noticed that the main sign was blank and that the place had been re-branded -- I'm not sure if it's a completely new ownership and staff or just a name change. Looking at Google reviews, it appears to have happened a month or two ago.

I believe there is another El Salto on Columbia Northeast Drive in the Big Lots side plaza -- I have not checked to see if that is still there.

This Walgreens was perhaps the least Wallgreens-looking store in the Columbia area, having been an Eckerd and then a Rite Aid until 2018. I had been in there a few times in each incarnation and it was fine, but it wasn't one of my go-to drugstores.

Commenter Andrew speculates that the issue here was the lack of a drive-through, but it's a corner spot, so I think they could have put one in somehow (though I did not think to look at the side area of the store). At any rate, the issue wasn't Walgreens oversaturation -- I believe the nearest one to here is either at Spring Valley Commons, or on Forest Drive, neither of which is particularly close.

(Hat tip to Mr. Guy)

While there are certainly still restaurants in this area of Decker, the relocation of this Chick-fil-A is yet another hit to this intersection.

In the past, we have seen the loss of Applegate's Landing, Zorba's, The Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Rush's, Little China, Sonic & Taco Cid.

This store has now moved to a new building at the former location of Atlantic Bedding & Furniture at 7515 Two Notch.

I believe commenter Haley was the first to report the actual closing, though it had been anticipated and discussed in the comments for a while.

(Hat tips to commenter Haley et al).

UPDATE 10 August 2022: Added a picture I missed before.

UPDATE 1 September 2022 -- Here is the new location in operation:

Cod Tail (a name, which I've said before, I really do not at all like) was the follow-on in this space to Rush's, which closed in 2019. Cod Tail opened sometime after February 2021, meaning it lasted a bit over a year.

Since I don't like seafood, I never checked the place out, but judging by the sign on the drive-through, they were having issues before they actually shut down. It appears that the Charleston location is still open, or at least the web site still works.

(Hat tip to commenter Haley)

UPDATE 7 June 2024 -- To become Tati's Island Cuisine:

Now Cabanas Restaurante with Honduran & Mexican dishes:

Cabanas was the follow-on in this longtime restaurant storefront to La Poblanita, and opened in 2016. I'm not absolutely sure there wasn't another restaurant in between Cabanas and the new tenant, but anyway, as of now this space is occupied by Tacos Locos.