Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

Curiously, I was at this restaurant on, I think, 23 June. I used to drive to the Devine Street Ruby Tuesday once a week for the salad bar to give my 1980 some highway time. After that closed, this one was just a little too far to get to often, and I believe that before my june visit, the last time I was here was during the tail-end of the Pandemic in 2020. At the time, they were doing a bit of innovative entrepreneurship. If you will recall, the retail channel for many items, most famously toliet-paper had become dysfunctional while the janitorial supply-chain was still working, and in fact under-stressed with so many people working from home instead of offices. Anyway, this location (and I believe a number of others nationwide) was selling toilet-paper and a number of other items along with their regular menu. I don't know how long that lasted, probably no more than a few months I guess, but it was good hustle.

But, getting back to the main thread, it had been quite a while since that visit, and out of the blue I had a hankering for the salad bar, so I drove out for lunch that day.

Immediately as I stepped inside, I had the feeling of a restaurant on its last legs. The floor was dingy and sticky, and the staff was apathetic. It took me several minutes to get recognized and greeted, and I was finally seated at a dirty table and had to request a table wipe. It took quite a while for the waitress to get back, and when I put in my order for the salad bar, I went over and found it rather disheveled with wilted and spotted lettuce and number of other items that needed tending to. Then when my tea came, it tasted very odd. I picked through my plate, and decided that this place was off the list. As it turned out, a week or two later it was off everyone's list.

Here's the story in the Post & Courier.

(Hat tip to commenter Trevin)

It appears that the Zaxby's out past Aldi on Garners Ferry Road is closed for some sort of remodeling. There are no details on the sign, but the sign is still branded Zaxby's, so I guess they plan to re-open in due course.

(Hat tip to commenter Badger)

This former Game Crazy switched over to Gamestop in 2010, and now with the latest wave of closings for that chain stands vacant.

WLTX reports that Gamestop plans to close more than 470 stores this year which honestly seems like that won't leave many, if any. I'm not a gamer, but I have to say that after spending hours trying to set up an Xbox for a gift Christmas a year ago, the idea of a store where you can go and just buy stuff rather than futzing around with downloading and accounts seems very appealing.

(Hat tip to commenter Lavender)

This Walgreens stands on the site of the old Cedar Terrace Pharmacy, which was torn down to build an Eckerds which was rebranded as a Rite Aid and finally as Walgreens. At the end of the day, I can see why the chain chose to close this location: It's not their current design, and is not too far from several other branches. That said, I'm not sure why they are transferring prescriptions to 7801 Garners Ferry, when it seems to me that the Devine Street location would be closer and more likely convenient to those customers.

When I think of this store, I remember this iconic signage from a few years ago which manages to encapsulate the straight-forwardness & transparency of the US health care system:

(Hat tip to commenter James R)

Commenter Badger points out this old quonset hut on Garners Ferry Road just east of the Old Garners Ferry Road fork. Regular google search doesn't bring up a lot of information about it, but we can get some old StreetView pictures to tie down two incarnations:

September 2007: A window tinting operation; I can't quite make out the name:

June 2008: I can't quite make out the name here either, but some sort of plant and/or produce stand:

August 2011: Still the same place I think, but with a better sign saying something like Produce & Plants Food Mart. If you move around a little the first word might be Mulligan's:

The plants and produce operation was gone by November 2014, and the place seems to have been vacant since then.

Restaurant models come in waves, for instance crab-themed seafood places, and there has been a wave of coffee drive-throughs lately, to include 7Brew, Clutch, Hard Bean, The Human Bean & Canal Coffee. Scooter's was part of that wave and opened here on Garners Ferry Road in 2023, part of a number of local openings as reported by The State.

The closing note on the drive-through doesn't really give any details, but a non-official Reddit posting suggests that only stores owned by WalReedBev Co are affected, and that does match the names given by The State.

(Hat tip to commenter Trevin)

I hope everyone has been enjoying their Summer: I know I have!

As the season winds down, I hope to get back to more regular posting.

I was not really aware of this Biscuitville, and in fact have not been to the chain at all, despite having the taste for a sausage biscuit every now and then.

The State says this location opened in March of 2024, so it lasted a bit more than a year. The story didn't give any reason for the closing, but it is located rather close to a Bojangles where biscuits also feature heavily on the menu.

The back yard is rather nice with a good bit of greenspace and their own retention pond, which is more attractive than most with a good stand of reeds or cattails taking advantage of the opportunity.

(Hat tip to commenter Payne)

Margaret's was on the North side of Garners Ferry out past Mr. Bunky's, and I took these pictures in 2018. It appears from the Yelp reviews (which are pretty positive) that the place probably closed in 2020, and in the event I never got to try it out.

I had not noticed that this Truist branch was closed until recently. For various historical reasons (ie: Southern National) I have a Truist Visa, but have rarely if ever needed to go into a branch, and I have been going to the Killian Road Panera since the one next door to this lot started going downhill. I finally did notice it when I came out to take some Party City pictures.

Somewhat surprisingly to me, despite the fact that the next tenant is also a bank (Founders Credit Union) the building has been completely gutted, the landscaping has been torn up and the earth turned and trenches (for cables?) have been cut in the parking lot. It looks like quite a bit of work before Founders will be able to open.

I had gone by this Party City around New Years I think, at any rate after the chain closing was announced, to get some pictures, but at that time it appeared to be in full normal operation. Now however all the closing signage is up.

This particular store moved here from Parklane in December 2022, so they have had around a two yaear run.

UPDATE 25 February 2025: Previously when I posted this closing, I had the wrong pictures (of the Harbison location). The pictures are now actually of the Woodhill location, and I am republishing the post.

UPDATE 5 March 2025 -- Here are the shots from 22 December 2024 that I couldn't find before: