Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

I ran across this closed video rental store in South Congaree some years ago, and as nearly as I can tell, it closed in the 2010 timeframe. I'm not sure about the adjacent insurance agency, but now those slots are filled by Forgiven Baptist Church and Grace & Beauty Salon respectively.

Apprently this section of Edmund Highway is South Congaree's Main Street.

I've wondered about this place over they years, and a couple of times actually had the impression that it was closed, and stopped to get some pictures. That appears not to have been the case until recently. It's an odd, boxy building with opaque glass windows,and I don't think I would have cared to work there, unless you can see out better than you can see in. The place is now being demolished, and commenter Larry says a 7 Brew Coffee is to be built there.

(Hat tip to commenter Larry)

As far as I can tell, A1A has rebranded, or was bought-by/merged-with Covenant Insurance Group, and is now at 7356 Garners Ferry.

I noticed as I was going to Uno recently that this Sunset Boulevard Nationwide office downhill from I-20 on the way into Lexington had moved. It looks like they are now at 5464 Sunset.

Next into the building will be a Kenneth Shuler branch.

I was in Parkland Plaza last weekend and noticed that the insurance agency by the nail spa was gone. Google is not helping me on dates here, but I'm going to say 2020 since I don't think it could have been vacant longer than that without my noticing it. (Though, admittedly, I have proved to be startlingly unobservant at times). It looks like though I have done a number of closings for suites on the State Street side of the plaza, I have never done this one in particular.

This section of Two Notch is not actually on the main road, but is sandwiched between that and the railroad tracks, and is accessible only at or near the light for Spring Valley. I had done a closing for a bank in the area, but had never driven back towards the east where there is a tailor shop at the end of this spur.

This building is the last one before that shop, and as you can see from the pictures, is built on a bit of an incline, so the parking lot is noticably lower than the street. I like the building and the lot, and the lack of traffic -- it's a good place for a destination business. I'm not sure when the Pitts office moved, but I don't recall seeing the real estate sign before, so I'm going to just call it 2021. According to their door sign, you can now find them at 8313 Two Notch.

I've made some pretty bad mistakes about Spanish language businesses here before, but I *think* Latino Express offers a variety of services including insurance, tax preparation and vehicle registration assistance.

It appears that they have relocated from this strip mall on Meeting Street, to 1735 Augusta Rd.

It appears that Always Original Bakery is setting up to occupy this spot.

This building, in a former Clusters Of Whitehall outparcel, is a former TD Bank. After the bank moved, Insurance Masters set up shop and painted the building a nice cheery Blue Cross blue. For some reason, after they left the building was repainted with drab green, and currently sits empty.

Although LoopNet is not currently offering the property, they do state it was built in 1970, which means it certainly did not start as a TD Bank, as they only came to town within the last ten years or so. They also state the vault is still inside, which is not surprising, as those can be pretty hard to get rid of.

UPDATE 14 March 2022 -- Now Soda City Pharmacy & Compounding:

I wasn't really aware of this small, tucked away strip mall in Lexington until commenter James R mentioned it. Unfortunately when I got there, the sun was against me, so the shots aren't great. It appears that Allstate was the middle unit, and the sign (which you can read on the click-through version) refers customers to 3920 Augusta Road.

(Hat tip to commenter James R)

I think I have a picture of this building standing.. Somewhere. Anyway, apparently the buildings at 2801 & 2835 were originally owned by Continental American which was bought out by Aflac in 2009. At some point after that, Aflac moved their all their operations to either Laurel Street or Huger Street depending on which report you read.

In 2016, the property was sold to Devine Station LLC, apparently for

mixed-use development that includes apartments and retail space

I guess they are now getting started on that.

It's not entirely clear to me if Farm Bureau occupied two suites in this building and remained for part of the time that the west side of the building was being outfitted for a restaurant, or if they left when that started, but at any rate they are gone entirely now, and their signage is off the building. (They are of course still in business and have other locations in the midlands).

I pulled a real estate flyer from a box at the location, and it seems that the restaurant (First Class Bar & Grill) which never opened was very far along, as the flyer mentions that all the hood work and venting is complete and that even televisions and a sound system are installed.

Other offices in this building remain in operation.

(Hat tip to commenter Sidney)

UPDATE 14 May 2020 -- The Farm Bureau and doctor's office spaces are now Smart Laundry. The space that was setting up to be First Class ended up being the new location for Pho Viet: