Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

As discussed in Have Your Say Muv Fitness (technically Müv Fitness like a metal band) has apparently sold their Midlands operations (save for a West Columbia location) to Onelife Fitness. I don't see any media reports on this, but it seems to have happened several weeks ago.

This is the Forest Drive location, which started as Forest Drive Church. As you can see from these through-the-windshield shots, the new branding is already up.

(Hat tip to commenter Lone Wolf)

I was aware of Burn Boot Camp in this location, but I was never really sure what it actually was. Judging by the corporate website, it is a gym chain focusing on shorter, 45 minute, workouts to get you in-and-out and off to your day with no wasted time. There remain several in the Midlands, with the next closest one probably being at Sandhill.

(Hat tip to commenter Larry)

Google Streetview suggests that Long's Drugs was here until probably sometime in 2020, being definitely gone by April 2021. It appears that Rise moved in in 2022, and was left sometime after October 2023. Judging from the web, they moved to 1727 Harden Street after that, and this building is currently vacant. You can see the LoopNet information here.

I was at the Peak Exit Food Lion off I-26 recently, and noticed that the strip's gym, Anytime Fitness had closed and is transitioning to Hitone Fitness in the near future.

I'm not clear if Nutrition Warehouse and Carolina Barbell gym were co-located in this storefront, or if Carolina Barbell came afterwards, and google isn't helping me out. Either way, neither is there now.

I don't believe I had ever driven back into Sesqui Station, and none of it is visible from Two Notch, so I was rather surprised to see the size of the place, though it is hardly bustling now. As I recall there was quite a controversy about it back in the day as it was built on land carved out of Sesqui State Park -- something that really isn't supposed to happen.

Bodysmith was the follow-on operation in this former Food Lion plaza to Blockbuster Video. Now the whole strip is being upfitted, and I believe someone said a Planet Fitness will be going in. At any rate, Bodysmith is gone with all the other tenants (if any were left). It appears that there are other Bodysmith locations in the area, but it's not clear to me if this location moved.

Come to Lake Murray Crossfit and get your drink on. Well not exactly perhaps, but the signage is still there. Commenter John R says that they have moved to the Old Mill.

I think the last time I was at Pastime Pavilion, I had driven all the over from Forest Acres to see "Mad Max" only to find out when I got there that I had read the listings wrong, and what was playing was "Max" a movie about a dog.

(Hat tip to commenter John R)

Well, the post on the Irmo location seems to have gotten a bit of traction today, so why not make a clean breast of it and post the final one?

The Lexington New Life Fitness World is off of Charter Oak Road, which connects US-1 and US-378 which are more or less parallel at that point. The gym is on a little court that seems to have some sort of failed building showcase on it, which I may post another day, though it is well behind the set of empty foundations.

This building is done in a completely different style than the other two, and seems to have had at least one other business co-located inside. There is something rather sad about the forlorn swim-noodles.

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Comparing the Irmo New Life Fitness World with the Two Notch one, you can see that the chain had a well defined aesthetic.

It's also quite a large building, and presumably mostly hollow in the middle. It's hard to think what could go in there without extensive remodeling. (Recall that Columbia Athletic Club had to be completely gutted to become Trader Joe's).

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I first wrote about this lot in the closing for North 1 Drive-In, a location that had a certain notoriety amongst teenage boys. Interestingly, the address given during the theater days is 8757, which is two blocks off of the current number. But then this was pretty much the boonies back then.

Not being a big exercise fan, what I constantly noticed about the New Life incarnation was the electronic banner on the top of their roadside sign. This normally ran a digital temperature reading, and it was never right -- Generally it wasn't even close.

Like Columbia Athletic Club before them, New Life has apparently lost the local battle against the (very fit) 500 pound gorilla that is Gold's Gym. Curiously, apparently the only New Life location remaining is in Cedar Rapids Iowa.

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