Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

Until commener Justin pointed out that it was closed, I did not even know there was an Inn At Claussen's. It still seems a little mysterious to me as I can't find any public announcement of it closing anywhere. It looks to have been an interesting place, with some two story rooms with their own spiral staircases. The reviews are all over the map, but there are several mentions that the nearby trains are *loud*, which I can believe given the location of the tracks and trestle.

The web and facebook pages for the hotel are gone, but here is the Wikipedia page for the historic bakery

(Hat tip to commenter Justin)

UPDATE 7 June 2019 -- The State says this space is being converted into 29 studio apartments. The story also confirms that the Inn closed due to the great flood of 2015.

As I was getting pictures of the Pour House, I noticed this vacant building more or less across the street from the Five Points Post Office.

My first assumption is that this Ultra Tan location had moved into the Food Lion complex on Harden Street:

but looking in my old phonebooks, apparently the two locations were open at the same time, so I guess not.

UPDATE 14 July 2017: Added Open Fire Grill based on the comments.

This Five Points bar (in the former Frank's Hot Dogs location on Harden Street) has been in the news a good bit lately. As The State said in May:

The Pour House bar in Five Points bar has agreed to give up its business license later this month and to close by 2 a.m. until then.

Columbia police announced the agreement Friday, saying owner Daniel Wells has “voluntarily relinquished” his license as of May 22.

Police Chief Skip Holbrook last month declared the bar a nuisance, citing a history of fights and other problems at the bar, including underage drinking and serving alcohol later than permitted by city law.

And later:

A former owner of the Pour House, a popular bar in Five Points that was closed down after police called it a nuisance, is asking a Richland County court to throw out portions of a USC student’s lawsuit against him, saying they exist only to humiliate the owners, tarnish their reputations, raise passions and inflame the media.

As I recall, I was only in the place once, probably sometime in the 90s, to see The Impotent Sea Snakes, who had just been in the news for outrageousness. In the event, they had to tone down their show, and weren't good enough musicians to make up for that -- or that was my opinion at the time.

I just noticed that I did a Pour House post, when it was closed temporarily for remodeling. I think that's when the monkey decor went away.

Well, today was the final call at El Burrito on Harden Street. In the event, I think I only ate there once or twice. It was good, but somewhat out of the way, and I tend to go to places with parking lots. Still, 16 years is a good run for a restaurant, especially in Five Points, and they went out on top of their game.

The Free Times has an interview with owner Suzi Sheffield which talks about the early years and the history of the building (which was originally a twin to the much remodeled Schiano's on Forest Drive).

Apparently it is still up in the air whether the developer who bought this and neighboring buildings will raze and build or just re-purpose.

UPDATE 12 July 2017 -- Finally got around to take some post-closing pix:

Well, this is a surprise. I had not eaten at Harper's more than four or five times over the years, but it was always perfectly fine. In fact, the last time I went, probably just a year or two ago after an absence of a dozen years or more, it seemed a good deal more upscale than I recalled. The dedicated parking lot was also a nice touch, as parking in Five Points can be a hassle.

Judging from the WLTX story flagged by commenter ED, the chain itself is OK, and continues in Charlotte & Greensboro, so there was apparently some issue specific to Columbia here.

It will be interesting to see what happens to this site.

(Hat tip to commenter ED)

UPDATE 12 March 2019 -- Work has started on the remodel for Home Team BBQ:

UPDATE 5 April 2020 -- Here are some additional pictures of Harper's I have just run across. They date from 1 February 2015:

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you don't have room to spell THROUGH correctly if you have room to put PROHIBITED.

I remember I was at a conference once in San Diego and a group of us walked into the Gas Light District looking for restaurant that someone had heard of that specialzed in garlic. Well, I like garlic and it was an excellent meal, but I recall thinking it was too bad that Columbia (much less Fayetteville where I was then living) could never support such a place.

I had a similar thought when I read the opening press for Columbia's bacon bistro Sizzle: Can Columbia really support a bacon restaurant?. Unfortunately, the answer appears to be: no, and arrived before I got around to checking it out.

(Hat tip to commenter Matt)

UPDATE 2 December 2015 -- This storefront is already open again, this time as a Southern Belly location:

Commenter Rick sent this picture of his former business some months ago but I was holding onto it until I could dig up some current-ish pictures of the spot for comparison. I actually did take some, but as so often is the case, I can't lay hands on them right now. The ones I did find are from 2011.

Though I must have driven, or been driven, by this spot hundreds of times through the years, I can honestly say I have no recollection whatsoever of this building. I also have no recollection of Harper's being built despite always thinking of it as a "new" place.

Commenter Rick has recently mentioned that X Records was also located on this corner and also knocked down to build Harper's.

(Hat tip to commenter Rick)

UPDATE 1 June 2015: Changed Gas Station in the post title to Gulf Station based on the comments.

This is the third Qdoba in Columbia to close fairly recently, the other two being on Garners Ferry and Two Notch. WLTX has the story here.

I think the chain may be having troubles in general as google finds a number of closings nationally, and I have also noticed the Surfside location close. I will say that the few times I have tried Qdoba in general (I did not try any of the Columbia stores), I have not been too impressed. In particular, my burrito always fell apart.

I'm not sure whether the architecture of this building is meant to suggest Southwest or Brick Train Station...

(Hat tip to commenter Justin)

UPDATE 26 August 2015 -- As mentioned by commenter James R, Salsarita's is now open in this location: