Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

There is a little confusion over the exact name of this place. It was the second location for Moctezuma Taqueria, so the sign and some of the online presence is for the humorous Moc2umas Taqueria and in other places it is simply Moctezuma Taqueria. (Still other places add an apostrophe for Moctezuma's Taqueria...).

Anyway, they moved into the back suite in this former motel after Julia's German Stammitisch moved out in 2018, and were there until late January when they had to leave due to circumstances beyond their control. According to commenter Larry and confirmed by The State, those circumstances were the sale of the property so that a veterinary clinic can be built there.

(Hat tip to commenter Larry)

Frankly, I had no idea at all what kind of place Kirkland's is. Looking at their web site, it appears they are a home decor store, something which comes onto my radar with vanishing rarity.

This particular store was in the new strip creating by redeveloping the old Kmart complex. They seem to have closed without fanfare -- I can't find any stories about it online, and google seems to think it is still there.

According to their store locator, there are still two locations in the Midlands, one in Harbison, and one on Two Notch Road.

(Hat tip to commenter Joe Shlabotnik)

Longtime Fort Jackson Boulevard staple Julia's German Stammitisch has moved from the old motel behind Cross Hill Market and to Sparkleberry Crossing in the old Za's location.

The State has the details, which include the fact that the Fort Jackson Boulevard space will be occupied by Moctezumas Taqueria which is moving from 506 Beltline Boulevard.

Schnitzel on!

(Hat tip to commenter Jimmy)

Chocolate Nirvana had the misfortune to choose the exact wrong time to move from their old Richland Street location to Fort Jackson Boulevard beside Gills Creek. In the event, they were devastated by the Great Flood Of 2015, and it now appears that they have given up on the building, which is currently for lease.

Their website leaves room to hope they may be back in another location, but I suspect the flood marks the end of this much repurposed building and would not be surprised to see it knocked down, though I'm not sure anything else could now be built on the lot.

UPDATE 18 March 2019 -- Not sure what is happening here, but some operation with a bull statue is setting up:

Here's another Great Flood of 2015 casualty.

This little restaurant on the Fort Jackson gate off I-77 has been there under one name or another for years. Originally, it was Saki, then when the current owner, who was working for the former owners, bought it out, he changed the name to Saky. This is what The State had to say:

“Who expected all this rain and the flood?” Sun Suk said as repairs continue on the eatery on Fort Jackson Boulevard at I-77.

The 7,500-square-foot structure housing Saky was damaged by the same flash flood Oct. 4 that inundated homes in the King’s Grant neighborhood.

Saky bore the brunt of the flood on its side of the road.

Two feet of water came inside and a tree fell on part of the restaurant after the bank of a nearby creek eroded in the rush of water.

“I walked in and it was a little wet, so I thought maybe it wasn’t too bad,” Sun said. “Then I went in back and could see the sky from inside of the building, so I knew I had a big problem.”

The first picture is from some years ago, the others from after the flood, though I could not get too close.

Hopefully they will be back soon.

I took a few minutes to walk Crowson Road between Devine and Fort Jackson Boulevard today. I did not attempt to go onto the old Kmart which was rather cordoned off, but work is definitely underway back there. I heard from a waitress at Ruby Tuesday that the pet store unfortunately lost some animals during the flood. Currently none of those stores are open.

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As you know, I don't wish failure on anyone, and certainly the crew at this Cross Hill Market burger joint seemed nice enough and I'm sorry for their jobs, but to be frank, I couldn't figure out how they lasted as long as they did.

I ate here twice, probably about a year apart, the last time in April or May of this year. When I had decided to go, I picked the place because it was a very nice Spring day, and I knew they had patio seating. In the event, by the time I got there, the sky had clouded over, and the temperature had dropped too much for outside seating to be comfortable.

Taking myself inside, I remembered why I had not been back after my first time. The interior was sort of dark and cave-like, not cheery at all, and everything seemed kind of industrial and not homey. In addition, the burgers were quite pricey and I felt like I was paying Red Robin type table service prices for counter service. And while there was certainly nothing wrong with the burgers, I would not count them in the running for Columbia's best. Also, given the location, I wondered after both times why I hadn't just gone to Smash Burger across the street, something I'm guessing a lot of people did.

(Hat tip to commenter Elizabeth)

UPDATE 30 January 2016 -- As commenter MrBO notes, Midwood Smokehouse is now open in this spot:

There's already been a good bit of discussion on this in Have Your Say but Utopia Food & Spirits, a local music venue and restaurant across from Cross Hill Market, has closed after suffering extensive electrical damage on 20 June.

Although I posted about their move from Rosewood to this location, I'm afraid the place was not really on my radar, but they seem to have been doing good work providing a showcase for local bands. Unfortunately repairing all the damage was just too expensive given the current economy.

The Free Times has the story here.

(Hat tip to commenter Justin)

Utopia in the old Doc's Gumbo Grille location on Rosewood has moved to 4330 Fort Jackson Boulevard, the old Pizza King location across from LaBrasca's.

According to their Kickstarter for moving info, they lost their lease here, which suggests that something new will be going in fairly quickly. The place has seen something of a revolving door set of restaurants since long term tenant Keg O'Nails moved out.

(Hat tip to commenter Travis)

Update 11 August 2014 -- Here is the new location:

I think a chocolate Nirvana would definitely be my favorite kind, and Columbia's is moving from Richland Street near Bull to the much tenanted former Jesudi's location on Fort Jackson Boulevard, most recently home to Sammiches.

It hasn't been a hospitable spot for regular restaurants recently, perhaps a bakery concept will do better.

(Hat tip to commenter Justin)