Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

The parent company of American Freight, Hilco Consumer-Retail has gone Chapter 11, and all American Freight stores are closing.

I had seen this location on Atlas Road many times over the years, but I never really grasped it was a retail outlet, the name making me think something more industrial. The parking lot is smaller than expected, meaning I couldn't really get back and get the whole store in the frame, but as you can see the Store Closing banners are already up. I guess if you need some furniture for the holidays, now would be the time to go looking...

You can read about the bankruptcy here.

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)

I found these pictures from April & May of 2012 -- Pretty much no change since then...

Whit-Ash has been in this location since 1974, making them a Vista stalwart before there was a Vista.

According to WIS this location was once the Murray Drug Company, and you should look at their article as it has a very nice historical picture and ad for that establishment.

Before moving to this spot, several articles mention a (non-specific) site on Saint Andrews Road as the original location for the store, and commenter Midnight Rambler found a 1973 State article listing it as at Boardwalk Plaza, which, of course was Bush River Road.

The owners are retiring, and don't have a definite end date for the closing sale, with the current plan being to sell down to the last piece of furniture.

You can read about Whit-Ash on ColaDaily, WLTX and The Post & Courier as well as the WIS link above.

(Hat tip to commenter Tom)

As we discussed a few days ago the Badcock chain is going out of business after a bad merger and bankruptcy. This is the Lexington location in Town Square.

I'm not sure of the actual closing date, but I don't see it outlasting the month, at least by much.

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.

This is fairly near to me, but if you'd asked me where it was, I couldn't have told you. I guess I get tunnel-blindness when I'm not in the market for whatever I'm drving by.

Anyway, commenter Andrew reports the retirement sale and upcoming closing, so if you are in the market for some casual & patio type furniture, you should probably head on down there before too much longer.

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)

I noticed that a gym has moved into the corner space at The Shoppes At 4600 and realized I never did a closing for the previous storefront Consign It!. If I have a picture of Consign It! I can't locate it right now, but you can see the marquee on there Facebook page here.

According to this State story, they closed shop here on 1 October 2021, and according, again, to their Facebook, opened a booth at Red Lion on Hampton Street not too long after that, though I'm not sure if they are still there as there.

I believe that Arena Athletic Club is the first tenant in this slot since Consign It! left.

This small furniture & decor store opened here in 2021, moving from Chapin to Meeting Street in West Columbia. Unfortunately with the challenging retail, supply chain and rising restock price environment, they will be closing sometime this summer. From their Facebook, it sounds as though it will not be too long from now though no date is given -- I am going to assume late this month for the post title.

The State has some more details.

(Hat tip to commenter Robin)

I wrote about a move for this place back in 2010, but now Bohemian Home on Devine Street is closing after nearly 50 years. WLTX has the story (with an interesting historical twist in the second paragraph), which is basically that with rising rents, current business conditions and the onslaught of big box stores, the owners decided keeping on was untenable.

The current plan is to shut down at the end of August, with an auction possible if there is still remaining inventory.

(Hat tip to commenter Deanna)

This storefront first featured here as Stein Mart, which closed in 2020. Last fall, it was briefly a Spirit Halloween popup, and then Furniture & Mattress Overstock opened in the spot.

It now appears that they are closing after less than a year at this location.

One curious thing is that Stein Mart was listed as 934 North Lake Drive, while Furniture & Mattress Overstock lists as 932 North Lake Drive. I'm not sure why that is, and which, if either, is actually correct.

Atlantic is the follow-on operation in this Two Notch storefront to Haverty's. That store closed in early 2018, and according to photos on Google maps, Atlantic opened there in December of the same year.

I have to say, after going into the lot for pictures, that the location is not very easy to get in and out of, especially if you are going East and the lot seems a bit small. Whether any of that is a factor, I don't know.

Given the dates listed on the (plentiful) roadside signs, it appears they want to wrap things up by the end of the month.

(Hat tip to commenter Thomas)

UPDATE 29 September 2021: Missed a picture:

UPDATE 13 March 2022 -- As mentioned in the comments, this building has been razed: