Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

Local Soul Food and Chicken & Waffles chain, Kiki's Chicken and Waffles closed their Harbison location on 28 June. The closing letter was rather interesting in that it acknowledged that the location hadn't lived up to their standards lately, and responded by closing the store rather than addressing those issues. On the other hand, the chain's ownership has had some recent legal woes that might make it difficult to put resources into a marginal operation.

This location opened in 2019, and the chain maintains several other locations in the area and one in Charleston. You can read about the closing at The State or on WIS or at the Post & Courier.

(Hat tip to commenter Tom)

I was unsure at first whether this furniture & mattress operation in Harbison Court were actually going out of business, or if liquidation was their normal mode. However, there is a panel truck parked at the plaza entrance which proclaims that they are in fact going out of business. That does leave aside the question of a Spirit Halloween mode where they open up to go out of business..

At any rate, this is the old Tuesday Morning slot, so I imagine management was glad to have anybody paying rent, for any term.

I had my goto Starbucks coffee: The Grande Latte many times at Harbison Court during my peak coffee years, but not at this store. Once upon a time, the plaza was home to Barnes & Noble, and I would get my fix hanging out there in that long vanished era where closing time was 11pm.

This particular Starbucks I think I only stopped at once, some years ago. As commenter, Mitch notes, the parking lot here is not well designed and the front area where the store was is a particular hassle as I found once more taking these pictures.

The closure does not leave Harbison 'buckless, as I believe there is still one in the Target down the road, and there are alternate options such as Panera. You can read the story in The State or Post & Courier

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)

UPDATE 4 May 2026: Fix tag typo.

The Sub Station II slot in the Columbiana food court has already been, well, not boarded-up, but the curtain based equivalent -- That's it behind the black backdrop left of Dragon's Breath.

I've never really warmed to Substation II -- I've tried the Cedar Terrace location several times, and have never been too impressed -- I would rather have Jimmy Johns or Subway amongst the sub shops.

According to The State, this location opened in 2024, so it did not have an especially long run here.

(Hat tip to commenter Dustin)

Francesca's has filed Chapter 11 and is closing all its stores and ceasing operation. You can read about it here. This particular location is in Columbiana Centre, not too far from Barnes & Noble, and has already started its closing sale. I don't know how long that will last, but they look to have some pretty steep discounts already.

This closing was reported by commenter Tom who mentions they also have a Sandhill location, but if they do, I have been unable to find anything about it and it does not appear to be on their site map. There was also a Trenholm Plaza location, but in the event it turns out that closed already several years ago, and I did not even notice.

(Hat tip to commenter Tom)

We're a women's resale store that buys gently used brand name clothing!

As commenter Andrew mentions, this Harbison Center resale store is in the process of closing. I don't know much else about it, except that I am very suspicious that its address is not really "Suite WXYZ", despite that information being given several different places online.

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)

Paint and sip studio where guests drink wine and create art with guidance from artist-entertainers.

That's the come-on for Painting With A Twist, and it's a pretty good one.

According to their retirement announcement, the folks running this one had been doing so for more than nine years.

Hopefully they have time to get in some painting of their own now.

This little plaza which was formerly anchored by a Bi-Lo and now by a Trader Joe's seems to be doing pretty well, so I doubt this spot will be vacant for long.

(Hat tip to commenter Ellen)

I believe this Harbison building first featured here as a Toys-R-Us, but now it's another Value City Furniture closing due to the chain's bankruptcy. As of last week, they were down to 50% off.

I don't recommend going anywhere this weekend, but there may be some deals left next week.

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)

I probably have enough furniture to last me out, so I don't know much about Sugar Creek, but they seem to have been well reviewed, and you can see their archived web site here.

This storefront featured here before as a Jewelry Warehouse location.

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)

I don't have much to say about this closing, just that the onwership of this Blaze was the same as the one at Sandhill, and it closed on the same date with the same note.